Lost and Found
by Youngsoul
Summary: Natsu Dragneel disappeared after a battle three years ago. The fairies have almost given up on finding him but then someone unexpected walks in the guild and an amazing adventure begins!
1. Prologue

**Hello! This is my new story that I came up with one day. I hope you like it and it would be nice if you reviewed it after you have read it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

The scene was familiar. I had seen all this so many times before playing in my mind over and over again. But even if I had, it still made my heart twist. He was there again, tired from a long and hopeless battle as the rain continued to fall down on his frail looking figure. His legs had given up and he was staring up at the dark clouds looming over us without saying a word. He looked like he couldn't believe what had just happened. I was sure that he was wondering the same thing as us. Was the battle really over? It had been such a long battle that it seemed strange for it to end like that. What was this silence? It almost felt like all the sounds had disappeared. The only thing we could hear was the sound of the raindrops falling to the ground. No one knew what to say that moment. So we stayed silent and looked at our hero. He then slowly turned to look at us and his eyes looked like he wanted us to tell him that it was over. That we really had won this battle. But we didn't have to tell him before he realized it himself. The shine in his eyes returned and his expression changed slowly into joy. "We did it!" He shouted happily into the air and his voice roared like a dragon and we almost covered our ears for it was so loud. We were happy. We were so happy. The smiles had returned to everyones faces. Happiness, that feeling was running through us. It overwhelmed all the other feelings we had felt up until now. All the sadness, pain and desperation was washed away by that one smile. His smile.

I woke up from my own bed and found tears running down my cheeks. "Huh, I thought I was over this already..." I mumbled to myself and wiped the drops away quickly as I lifted myself up from my warm spot. It was raining and the sound made me remember the dream I had last night. I sighed deeply and looked at the dark sky. "I wonder when you're going to come back to us..." I stayed there for a while and I started to feel depressed. "Agh, this is no time to be depressed! I have to get a grip!" I slapped my hands to my cheeks, trying to get rip of the depressing feelings. I smiled and turned to look at a picture on my table. "That's what you would want, right...?" I walked closer to the picture and took it into my hands and smiled sadly. In the picture there was a boy with a bright smile, celebrating his birthday with his friends. "Natsu..."


	2. Changes

**Yay, chapter 2 is out! I know that they aren't really long but I hope you'll still enjoy it! I'm trying to update once a week if possible but I won't promise anything! Anyways, enjoy!**

The guild of Fairy Tail was full of action even though the weather wasn't the best. Some were eating their breakfast and the guestboard was full of new quests so there was many interested mages gathered around it in hopes of easy mission with high rewards.

The guild Master was still sitting on the exact same spot he always did looking the same as always, wearing that easygoing expression but still having that small mysterious glint in his eyes. Everyone in the town respected him for he was very wise and powerful. And if someone were to hurt anyone from his guild, his family they would pay for it dearly. But today he was laughing together with everyone and taking a sip of his drink every now and then. Then suddenly, Master rose up from his place and had a thoughtful expression. Then he turned serious, inhaled and started to speak.

"Everyone in the guild!" His voice echoed through the hall and everyone fell silent instantly.

"I'm sure that most of you remember what day today is but for those who don't remember I'll tell this story again." He had a very serious look but you could sense some sadness from him as he continued.

"Three years ago, this guild was facing another battle that seemed hopeless. In that despair there was a boy who kept fighting for all of us no matter how hopeless it seemed." Master paused and no one dared to even breathe.

"He fought and he won. He truly showed us what the spirit of Fairy Tail is. But..." The air in the guild turned heavy. Everyone who knew this story from before didn't want to hear it again.

"As we thought it was all over, something happened and we never saw our savior again. He disappeared from this world. But right before he left, he told us that he would come back. No matter how long it takes, he would definitely come back. And we will believe him. We believe that one day, he'll come marching in from that door like nothing would've ever happened." He told the whole guild while pointing the big doors leading outside. Then, he lifted his hand up and did the familiar mark that everyone in Fairy Tail used.

"For our savior, Natsu Dragneel!" He shouted and everyone lifted up from their seats and shouted. Even the thunder outside was silenced by the roar inside the guild.

After a while, everything went back to normal but it only lasted for a while as the front door opened. Inside walked a red haired woman who was now soaking wet.

"Titania Erza Scarlet has returned!" Someone shouted as the woman walked to Master.

"Welcome back Erza. How did the mission go?" Master asked with a smile.

"The mission went fine. But I really didn't know that it was raining this hard back here in Magnolia." Master gave a laugh.

Erza hadn't changed much in three years. She looked a bit more adult than before and her hair was a bit longer but otherwise she was the same.

"You should go take a shower and change your clothes or you'll catch a cold!" Someone said behind the counter. It was Mira. She hadn't changed a lot either. He hairstyle had changes as her forelock wasn't tied up anymore, but had grown long like the rest of her hair. She kept her hair neatly on a ponytail as she worked but she would let them fall freely to her shoulders and back when they wouldn't be in her way.

"I'm fine Mira." Erza replied and shouted "Regroup!" Her clothes were changed by her magic into a warm blouse and loose pants.

"This is good right?" She asked and Mira nodded with a warm smile.

"But Erza you really finished your mission quickly. Is there some reason for that?" Master asked the woman.

"I had to be here today. After all, it's the third anniversary of that day." She replied. Masters expression changed and he looked at the ground.

"Do you still believe that he will return?" Erza sighed and gave a small smile.

"Of course. And so do they." Erza looked over to her friends sitting at a table and eating their breakfast happily.

"You're right about that." Master replied and gave a grin. Erza was about to walk over to them when someone shouted her name.

"Erza! Welcome back!" Erza turned to see a girl with long blue hair, tied into two loose pigtails.

"Oh, Wendy. I'm back." Erza replied with a smile.

Wendy had grown the most in three years. She was a lot taller and didn't wear those girly dresses anymore. She wasn't a crybaby anymore and she had become a strong mage. The loss of her comrade three years ago made her stronger somehow and she tries her best every day. Instead of doing missions she likes to stay at the guild and help Mira.

"How did the mission go?" She asked Erza while carrying someones order.

"It went fine. No destroyed houses or anything." Wendy laughed. "Well that's good! I have to take these now, bye!" She waved and went back to delivering drinks to the tables.

Erza continued her way to her friends who were already waiting for her.

"Welcome back Erza!" Lucy greeted her friend as she sat to their table.

"I'm back." Erza said and looked at her friend. She was smiling now but Erza remembered how she was three years ago.

She had had a big emotional crash after they lost Natsu and due to that she had cut her hair very short and it still hadn't grown back to what it was before Natsu disappeared. Like Erza, she looked more adult-like than before and she didn't look like a cosplay-girl anymore but wore more normal clothing. Gray was sitting beside her and was drinking something. He was silent and looked like he was deep in thought.

"Gray? Is something wrong?" Lucy asked and he gave a sigh.

"It's nothing... I was just thinking about something..." He said without lifting his head.

"Is it about Natsu?" Erza asked but Gray didn't answer.

"You should stop feeling guilty about what happened. There was nothing we could have done." Erza had said the same sentence many times before. 'There was nothing we could have done.' But still they wondered if it was true. Was there really nothing they could have done?

"I know Erza... I know..."

Gray had changed like the others had. He had become more adult-like physically and mentally. Natsu's disappearance had had a big effect on him and he had become very protective towards everyone so that he wouldn't lose anyone anymore. His outer appearance had changed too. He had let his hair grow and kept it on a small ponytail in the back of his head. His hair was still unruly otherwise. The biggest change however, was that his habit of taking off his clothes had almost stopped completely. It happened very rarely anymore and if it did happen he would notice it himself and quickly put his clothes back on.

There was a silence before Lucy spoke.

"It's already been three years since that..."

"Yeah..." Gray replied.

There was a heavy atmosphere over their table and the other mages sensed it too and moved further away from them.

"When is he going to come back? I'm starting to get all depressed again... I even saw that dream again..." Lucy said and buried her face to her hands. Gray threw his hand over her shoulder and pulled her closer.

"He's going to come back for sure. He promised us after all." Gray tried to comfort Lucy but he wasn't so sure either. Would Natsu really come back?

**A/N: No, Lucy and Gray aren't lovers or anything! Gray was just being nice, okay? It's because he's older now and all... He cares about his friends so he wants to comfort them! That's all! **


	3. Tracking

**Chapter 3 is out already! Wow! I worked on this the whole day and I just had to update it right away! :D Anyways, enjoy!**

The day started to pass and one after one the members of Fairy Tail left the guild to go to their homes or to new missions. But Erza, Lucy and Gray hadn't moved from their table. Then suddenly, Erza got up and walked to their guild Master.

"Master, could you prepare _that_ for us?" Erza said quietly so that only Makarov would hear it.

"You're going to try that again? You know that it's meaningless."

"But we still haven't given up hope." Erza gave a small smile and Master sighed in defeat.

"I got it. Just wait for a while, okay?" Erza nodded and Master hopped down from the counter and walked away somewhere. Erza walked back to her friends and had a serious look again.

"We're going to try _that _again. Are you ready?" Gray and Lucy turned to look at Erza and nodded.

"Let's go then."

They walked down a hall and opened a big, wooden door. The room was small and had no furnitures. It was a special room for training magic but it wasn't used often. Master was in the room and was holding something small in his hands.

"Who wants to do it this year?" He asked and the trio looked at each other.

"I'll do it this time." Gray said and walked forward. Master gave him a crystal ball and he sat down in the middle of the room.

"Now, you two sit on each side of him." Master said and pointed the spots they were supposed to sit to. Erza and Lucy walked to their places and sat down.

"Lucy and Erza will send Gray their magical energy and Gray will concentrate it to the crystal ball. Like you remember, the crystal ball is used for tracking people and in this case you are trying to find Natsu. Gray will have to imagine him inside his mind and the ball should show you his whereabouts. Up until now we haven't been able to track Natsu and I believe that it is because Natsu could be in a completely different dimension." It became all silent again before Master sighed.

"This will be the last time you will try Tracking for it is a very dangerous magic."

"What? But if we can't find him now that means-"

"That means that you will have to search for him by some other way." Master cut Lucy off before she had time to finish her sentence.

"But because this is your last time trying I'll help you out. If we can't find him then we'll have to assume that he isn't in this world." The three nodded and Master sat down too.

"Start!" He shouted and everyone closed their eyes and concentrated.

Magical energy flowed to Gray, who concentrated on finding Natsu.

The rain outside could now be heard clearly as all the other sounds had died down. Minutes passed and they soon turned to tens of minutes.

Sweat drops fell from Gray's face as he concentrated. The towns, the rivers, the deserts, he could see everything. But he was nowhere. The pink-haired boy couldn't be found anywhere. 

_'Natsu, where are you?' _Gray thought as he drifted further away.

"Gray, come back already!" Master then shouted.

"No...let me search for a little longer..." Gray said but he already knew that he was at his limit.

"Gray! It's okay, come back!" Erza shouted and this time Gray decided to obey. Gray felt his mind being pulled back to something and the sceneries begun to flow away. He soon saw the town of Magnolia and there, the guild. But then he sensed something.

"This feeling...could it be?" Gray stopped himself right before his mind returned back to his body.

"What is it Gray?"

"He's right here!" Gray shouted but something started to crack.

"The crystal ball!" Lucy shouted.

"Gray, come back this instant!" Master shouted.

"But-" "NOW!" Then, a sound of something breaking could be heard and the shards of the crystal ball fell all over the place. Gray fell to the ground too.

"Gray!" They all shouted and ran to him. He squeezed his eyes shot tightly before opening them. He was panting and looked shocked. Then, he turned to look at Master.

"I-I saw... I saw him...He...was right here, coming to the guild!" Now it was Master who looked shocked.

"That's impossible...!" He muttered and ran out of the room.

"We should go too!" Lucy said and Erza nodded at this.

"Gray, can you stand?"

"Y-yeah." He said and got up.

Then they ran after Master to the main hall. Nothing had happened in the hall and no one had come in. Everything was perfectly calm.

"Maybe you made a mistake?" Lucy asked the older boy who looked shocked.

"No...I'm sure that I saw him...I _felt_ him! He was coming here, for sure!" They looked at him and were unsure if they would believe him or not.

"I'm not sure if it is Natsu, but someone is coming. Be prepared, it could be an enemy!" Master said and they turned to look at the door big doors. No one dared to even breathe as they waited for the doors to open.

They didn't have to wait for long as the doors opened slowly. Someone gulped. Who was going to come in?


	4. Finding

**Thank you all for reviewing! And special thanks for HeartGold12, been listening to the music whole the time!  
><strong>

**I think that some of you might have noticed that I haven't been writing about Happy... at all... That's because 1. He's hard to write. 2. I forgot about him.  
><strong>**So sorry everyone who loves Happy... Just tell me if you want me to add him in and I'll do my best to write him!  
><strong>

**Anyways, enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 4

The two doors opened slowly and inside walked a small figure, his eyes covered by the big hood he had.

"I-Is this Fairy Tail?" A voice of a boy asked and no one moved.

"Yes this is indeed the guild of Fairy Tail. What brings you here?" Master asked. They all eyed the boy suspiciously.

The boy's cheeks were flushed and he looked very tired even though his eyes weren't visible.

"I finally made it here...Fairy...Tail..." He said before he collapsed to the ground.

Master, Lucy, Erza and Gray all ran to the boy fast. Master flipped the boy over quickly and took off his hood. Everyone was shocked when they saw the boys face. It was a familiar face that they had all missed.

"It's Natsu! Gray, you were right, he really did come back!" Lucy said happily and Gray just stared. He couldn't believe it. After three years he finally came back. But why did he look like a child?

Master put a hand on the boy's forehead and was surprised how hot it was.

"He has a terrible fever! We should take him upstairs right away." Master told the others and after Erza punched Gray to his arm he snapped out of his daydreaming and lifted the boy into his arms. He was surprised how light the boy was and became worried about him. Gray led the party as they made their way to the infirmary. He carefully placed the boy on one of the beds and Master walked closer to the boy.

"Erza, go get Mira from downstairs. I may need her help." Erza nodded and ran out from the infirmary.

"Master, is there anything we can do?" Master was silent for a while before answering.

"I'll tell you if you can help in any way. Right now it's best if you just wait outside. I'll tell you if anything happens." Lucy was silent and clenched her fist.

"Come on Lucy." Gray said and took her hand. Lucy stopped right before the door.

"Just tell me one thing." She took a deep breathe and looked forward with a serious face.

"Is he really Natsu...?" Master seemed to think about it before answering.

"I can't be sure yet. You probably sensed it too, this boy has the same air as Natsu had but it could be a trap for us. Don't let your guard down." He told them. Lucy bit her lip and exited the infirmary with Gray.

Gray couldn't sleep. His head was full of thoughts about the boy who had just appeared before them. Was he the same person as the one they had once met? Or was he someone completely different? Was he even a friend? Maybe he was an enemy and they would have to-. Gray shook his head and wished that the thought would leave his head.

Lucy had somehow been able to fall asleep and was now using Gray's shoulder as her pillow. Gray didn't really mind it.

Erza hadn't come back from the infirmary yet and this made Gray a bit worried. Maybe the boy's condition was worse than they thought? But right then, Erza came back from the infirmary, wearing a strange look.

Gray turned to look at Lucy and gently placed her down on the bench trying not to wake her up. Then he got up and walked to Erza.

"How's the kid?" Erza didn't answer anything and looked away from Gray.

"His fever came down and he is physically okay. It seems like he came a long way to reach this guild so he's just exhausted." Gray gave a sigh of relief but noticed the expression on Erza's face was still serious and worried.

"There's still something?" Gray asked and Erza nodded.

"That boy...He isn't Natsu..." Gray was shocked. Had their hopes betrayed them once again?

"Or at least it isn't entirely him. You could say that that boy is a part of the Natsu we know."

"What do you mean?"

"We believe that Natsu's soul has somehow been divided to many parts and this is one of them."

"I see..." There was silence once again and Gray turned to look rain still continued to fall from the dark sky.

"Natsu...what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Are you going to stay here for the night?" Erza asked Gray, who nodded in response.

"Yeah, I want to be the first one to know if something happens to the kid." Gray had sat down next to Lucy who was still sleeping. Erza gave a small smile.

"I see. I'll bring you two some blankets."

"Thanks." Gray replied and Erza ran off somewhere.

The guild was now completely empty and very dark. Some candles had been lighted and they softly fluttered in the night. It was strange how the noisy guild would turn so lonely and cold when night fell.

Gray turned to look outside once again to see the rain still falling down.

"When will this rain end?" He asked to himself and felt something shift beside him. He turned to look at Lucy who had woken up and gave a small yawn.

"Did anything happen while I was sleeping?" She asked, still looking sleepy.

"Actually..." Gray looked down and didn't really want to tell Lucy, knowing that she would become sad.

"What happened? Tell me." Lucy looked at Gray seriously and he sighed.

"I got it." It was useless to try and hide it from her anyways.

Gray explained everything and Lucy listened to him quietly. Her expression didn't change even when Gray told her that the boy wasn't really the Natsu they knew. After Gray finished, Lucy sighed a bit sadly.

"I understand." She said then. Gray had expected her to break down or to even shed a few tears but 'I understand'?

"What? That's all...?" Gray was completely astounded.

"Yeah...After all, I was a bit prepared to this. Master wasn't sure about him either so I didn't get my hopes up too high either."

"I see." There was a silence between them and soon they heard footsteps coming their way.

"Sorry, it was really hard to find them in this darkness..." Erza said and noticed that Lucy was awake.

"Lucy...Did you hear everything already?" Erza asked her and she nodded.

There was a sad atmosphere around them before Erza threw the blankets at them. Then, she sat in the middle of the two. She sighed and smiled sadly.

"That boy is a part of a soul. Part of Natsu. And if he's just a piece it means that there are more pieces somewhere. I'm going to find those pieces and get Natsu back. Will you come with me?" Erza then asked and looked at the two.

"You don't even have to ask that." Gray said and gave a smile.

"Of course we'll come!" Lucy then said and smiled too. Erza smiled back at them and they fell silent again but they all had he same thought.

_'We'll get you back for sure!'_


	5. Listening

**Yeah! A new chapter! It's really been a while... But I somehow did it!  
>This chapter is much longer than the other chapters but the quality isn't as good...<br>Well anyways, thank you for waiting this long for the update and enjoy the chapter!**

"He woke up?" Master was sitting on the counter again, and the air around him seemed to be very serious today.

"Yes. He wants to talk to Erza, Gray, me and you. It seemed to be important…" Lucy said. They had all been taking turns watching the kid and just before Lucy's turn was about to end, the boy had woken up.

Flashback

"N-Natsu…?" Lucy asked uncertainly as the boy slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times and turned his head to look at Lucy. He was just staring blankly at her without any expression.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked again.

The boy's eyes suddenly widened and he seemed to realize something. He shot up sitting and looked around the room.

"This place…" The boy then turned his gaze back to Lucy.

"Is this place Fairy Tail?" He asked loudly and his eyes were filled with hope and excitement.

"Y-Yeah…" Lucy said nervously and he boy gave a big smile.

"I made it!" He said loudly.

Lucy wasn't sure what to say to the boy. But she didn't have to say anything before the boy asked her a question.

"I'm sorry but could you get Master, Erza and Gray here? I have something to tell you all." He looked serious this time and Lucy could only mutter a 'yes' back to him.

Flashback end

"I understand, let's get the two others." Lucy nodded and walked towards her two friends who were sitting at the same table as always but saw something blue fly inside the guild and as she looked at it more carefully she realized what it was.

"Happy!" Lucy ran towards him and saw a woman following the cat.

"And Juvia too!"

"Lucy!" Happy said happily and flew to her in a flash.

"Welcome back!" Lucy said and smiled. Juvia was scanning through the guild as if looking for something. Soon she found what she had been looking for and her eyes begun to shine.

"Gray-sama!" She shouted and ran towards the table Lucy had been going to.

Lucy gave a small laugh at the woman's actions before Happy asked her something.

"Lucy… We heard a rumor that a child who looked like Natsu came to the guild a few days ago… Is it true?" He looked serious but at the same a bit sad. Lucy gave a small sigh.

"It's true." Lucy explained everything that had happened during the time the two had been on a mission and the blue cat listened silently.

"And he woke up just a while ago and told me to get Gray, Erza and Master. It seemed like he had something important to tell us."

"Maybe I could come too? I really want to see him even if he isn't the same Natsu…"

Lucy smiled and patted the cat on his head.

"I'm sure it's fine if you come too. Come on, let's get the others too!"

After a while

Soon, they were all standing in the infirmary before the pink-haired boy waiting for him to speak. The boy's face showed a lot of curiosity towards everyone and he would gaze at them for a while and frown a bit like he was trying to remember something. When he finished, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled.

The air seemed a bit tense. No one was sure what was going to happen and it made everyone nervous.

Then, the boy showed the biggest smile the party had seen in a while.

"Yo!" He then greeted them all happily and lifted his hand.

All the tension and suspicions were gone in a flash.

Just by that one smile.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Master then interrupted the happy moment. The boy's face turned a tiny bit more serious but he still had a small smile on his face.

"I'm sure that you all already know that I'm just a part of your friend. Since I'm only a part I don't have many memories of you." He gave an apologizing look.

Many questions were running through everyone's head but no one wanted to voice them. Thankfully Erza soon asked the first guestion.

"Can you tell us what happened to Natsu?"

The boy gave a small smile and nodded.

"I guess I should start from the beginning." He said and looked outside the window, where the rainstorm had started to calm down.

"When the battle three years ago ended and you thought you had won, the enemy suddenly appeared and grabbed your friend, right?" He quickly glanced at us and then, looked back outside again.

"Yeah, and he pulled him into some kind of portal, what was that all about?" Gray asked this time. The boy frowned.

"That man wanted to connect this world and one other world together. And your friend had the power to connect them. And that man knew about that power."

"Wait a minute, I've never heard about this. So Natsu had a power to connect worlds?"

"He wasn't aware of it either. And it only worked for this world and the other one. So, the man used the last bit of his strength to open a gate with your friend's power and sent him and himself into the other world."

"Yeah, we remember that…Right before he disappeared he said told us that he would return to us one day." Gray said.

"So what happened to Natsu after that?" Master asked this time.

"Traveling to the other world isn't that simple. The laws are different and the power they use is completely different. In that world, there is no such thing as a body. So your friend's soul separated from his body and from the shock, the soul split into three pieces. I'm one of those pieces. Soon, I encountered with another piece of your friend's soul and we tried to find the last part of the soul and the body. But we couldn't find them at first." The boy gave a soft sigh.

"Time passed and all sorts of things happened and we finally found the missing pieces. The last part of the soul had gone back to the body, but the body had entered a deep sleep and it was impossible for us to wake him up. So we decided to watch over him. Since all the pieces of his soul are somehow connected, we could still hear his thoughts. It seemed like he was trapped inside his memories."

"Trapped in his memories? What do you mean by that?" Lucy asked.

"Because a part of his memories are inside us, the two parts of his soul, his memories won't connect to each other. And if those memories won't return, he can't wake up. We tried to return the memories but we couldn't do it. That's where we need you." The boy turned to look at us and he was wearing a very serious look.

"So we have to regain his memories?" Erza asked.

"Yes. It may sound difficult but it's actually quite simple." The boy said and his expression softened to a smile.

"So please, can you three come and help me to gather the scattered pieces?" The boy said and looked at Lucy, Gray and Erza.

"Of course!" The three said in unison.

The blue cat suddenly flew before the boy.

"I want to come too!" He said but the young boy gave a sad smile.

"I'm sorry but you can't come with us."

"What? Why?"

"You're from another world right? Edolas was it? Only people from this world are able to pass through the gate that connects the worlds. I'm sorry…"

The cat seemed to be really sad, his head hanging low and his ears pressed against his head.

"I understand…" He then replied and the boy petted the cat on his head.

"But.. it's still up to Master. Will you let us go?" Erza said and looked at Master with a pleading look. Master seemed to think about it deeply, hands crossed and frowning.

"I'm sorry but I'm still not convinced that you are what you claim to be. We know that you're a part of Natsu but why do you want to gather the pieces again? You know that when the pieces are gathered-" Master couldn't finish his sentence when the boy cut him off.  
>"I will cease to exist. I know." The room became silent.<p>

No one had thought it like that. The thought made them sad. To get Natsu back, the two parts of his soul would have to return back to being one again.

"Before we found the last piece and the body we thought that we didn't want to put them together again. We liked our life and we didn't want to disappear. But when we found Natsu, he started to show us those memories. Memories of you all." The boy looked at everyone with a kind smile.

"That moment, we felt regret. We started thinking that maybe it was okay for us to disappear. The existence called 'Natsu' had so many friends waiting for him, and we were selfishly keeping him away from them. That's when we decided that we would wake him up and come back here, back to you all." The boy said with a smile.

"That's a nice thought and all but you know there's still something bugging me…" Gray said with an annoyed look.

"What is it?" The boy asked in surprise.

"The whole thing about you disappearing… That's wrong. It's not like you will disappear, you will still continue to live inside Natsu." Gray said with a smile.

The boy couldn't respond to that, he just looked at Gray wide-eyed.

"Yeah, and then you'll be always with us!" Lucy said and wore a bright smile on her face.

"That's right. You won't disappear. Don't worry." Erza now continued. The three were smiling brightly and the boy's eyes started to shine. Soon, tears made their way out and the boy started to cry loudly.

"He r-really has great f-friends!" The boy said between his sobs.

"What are you saying? We're your friends too!" Gray said.

The boy cried even louder.

"T-thank you!"

Master sighed.

"Well I guess I have to believe your story. Go on, save that little idiot!" He said and grinned.

"Thank you, Master!" Erza said.

The young boy was calming down as the blue cat flew around him, trying to amuse him. The boy soon broke into laughter and that moment he looked like just a small child with no worries in the whole world. The others couldn't help but to smile at the boy, he was just too adorable.

"Should we pack our things and leave?" Gray said and broke the laughter.

"Yeah, go get your things and meet back at the guild in an hour. Is that okay?" Erza said and looked at the young boy, who nodded.

"By the way, my name is Haru."

"What?"

"Well, since there are three of us it would be a little confusing if we were all called Natsu, right? That's why we decided that we would all have our different names. Oh, and he other part is called Kaito. And the one sleeping is Natsu, okay?" The boy said and smiled brightly again.

"Got it. So Haru, you ready to go?" Gray asked and walked over to the child.

"Yeah!" The boy answered and lifted the blanket off.

"You need help?" Gray asked the boy who shook his head.

"I'm fine!" He hopped down the bed and smiled. For the first time they could see his clothing properly. He wore a long, black vest that had red trimmings and it reached down to his knees. It was open and at the ends, two small golden bells were attached and they made a small sound when he moved. His trousers went a little past his knees and looked exactly like the trousers that Natsu used to wear. But unlike Natsu's, the trousers were black and had red trimmings. He wore a dark red t-shirt under the vest.

"I'm sure that all kinds of rumors have started spreading through the guild so I think it's best if I went and explained everything to them." The Master said and walked out of the room.

Haru seemed to be a bit unsteady on his feet, holding one hand on the bed for balance.

"You okay?" Gray asked in worry as the young boy kept swaying dangerously.

"I-I'm okay…" The boy said weakly and tried to force a smile on his face.

"Definitely not!" Lucy now said and walked over to the boy.

"It's okay-" The boy couldn't finish his sentence as his legs gave up and his consciousness was lost. Gray was by his side and caught him easily before he fell to the floor. Gray gently turned the boy around and held him gently in his arms. The boy stirred and soon opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry…I'm so weak…"

"I think you should rest some more. We can delay the journey a bit so you can rest, okay? It's important that you are in good health." The boy gave a soft laugh at Erza's words. He gave a tired smile.

"I'm afraid that this won't get better no matter how I rest." The boy gave a tired smile. "You know that I'm just a soul. Usually no one should be able to see me, but I cast a spell on me when I came here so I would become visible. Of course maintaining the spell takes a lot of magical energy and I'll run out of it soon…"

"Then you should cancel the spell! You will be in danger like this!" Lucy shouted panicked.

"I can't do that. If I cancel the spell then you wouldn't be able to see me or hear me. How would you know how to get to the other side?" Everyone went silent. The boy was right. "And besides, even if I would cancel the spell it wouldn't help at this point. My magic will run out no matter what." The boy gave a sad smile.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Gray asked. The boy's expression turned serious as he looked at the three.

"There's no such thing as 'magic' in the other world we are going to. Other powers exist in there. If I return there in time I think I'll be okay." They all were silent for a while.

Then, Lucy gave a confident smile. "Then what are we waiting?" She stood up and had a determined look. "Let's go to that other world!"

Erza and Gray smiled too.

"Right!"

**Okay I dunno what I should write here... Um, review? :D  
>Oh, and keep waiting for it's going to take a while again (I think)<strong>


	6. Seeing

**Hello everyone! I know it's been forever and I'm so so so sorry about that... You see, the next chapter has completely new characters and I've asked a friend to help me with them and she still hasn't finished her work. But right now I'm not really sure how that'll work out... Maybe she even forgot about it! O_O I'll just have to wait and see. I'm going to see her tomorrow (hopefully) and I'll ask about the pictures then.. Without them I might be in a pinch!**

**I'm sorry that this chapter is so short but like I said, I can't continue without designing the characters first and my mind just doesn't work so well without a picture...**

**Anyways, enjoy! And remember to review even though you probably hate me for being so slow TT^TT **

After a few hours they were all set to go.

They were standing outside the guild as the rain still continued to fall from the dark sky. The other members of the guild had come to see as the four were about to depart to an unknown world.

"Take care of yourself, Lu!" Levy told Lucy, who nodded back at her.

"Please come back soon, Gray-sama!" Juvia shouted to Gray, who gave a small smile.

"How long do you think our journey will last?" Erza asked Haru, who was being carried by Gray as his own strength was running out.

"A few days." Haru said with a calm face. The three other turned to look at the kid with wide-eyes.

"What?"

"I forgot to tell you. The time moves differently in that world. A day can be weeks, or maybe even months. It's irregular. So what could be three months in that world, can be four or five days in this world."

The three were again, surprised.

"So when Natsu was away for three years in our time… how long does that make in the other world?" Lucy asked. The other two hadn't thought of that question yet. Haru was silent for a while before answering. The rain seemed to make the situation even sadder.

"In that worlds time…It's already been about forty years." Haru said sadly.

"F-forty years?" They all asked in shock.

"Just what have you been doing all that time? And why didn't you come here sooner if you had that much time?" Gray asked.

"It's really hard to travel to this world. And it's dangerous too since I need a lot of magical energy. This was the last option we wanted to use."

"I see…"

"And when we get to the other world I'll show you all what we've been doing during the forty years." Haru said and smiled widely.

"I really just have a bunch of questions I still would want to ask but I suppose I'll have to wait for a better time?" Gray said and Haru smiled.

"Yeah, we should depart now. Can you put me down?"

Gray slowly put Haru down and supported him from the back so he wouldn't fall again.

"Ready?" Haru asked and looked at the three, who nodded in response.

"Come back with that idiot!" A voice said and they saw Master standing before the rows of mages, grinning widely.

"Yes!"

Haru was looking at his left wrist and soon he seemed to be making some symbols on it by his right hand.

"Haru, what are you doing?"

"I'm sending a message to Kaito so that he'll open a gate from that side."

"Right…" Haru stopped his writing and looked closely to his wrist. Soon, red symbols appeared to it but they made no sense to the three mages.

"He's ready, we can leave." Haru said and raised his both hands before him.  
>"Gray, can you keep supporting me? The gate is hard to open in here…"<p>

"Sure." Gray kneeled down and held the young boy with his both hands.

Haru's fists were clenched tight for a while and he seemed to be concentrating very hard. Sweat began to roll down his face and he frowned. No one dared to speak.

Then, Haru opened his hands and exhaled calmly. Soon, a portal opened before them. It was a swirl of many different colors and it somehow seemed very welcoming, not scary at all.

Haru was looking very tired but still wore a relieved smile.

"Let's go."

Haru was about to fall again, but Gray grabbed him again and lifted him onto his back.

"You alright there?"

"Yeah, thanks." Haru said tiredly but managed to give a small smile.

Gray and Haru went in first, then Lucy and Erza calmly walked in after waiving at the other guild members.

It only took a blink of an eye to travel to the other world. The trip felt a bit strange, like having a long dream in just one second.

The first thing they noticed was that it was very dark and they could barely see ahead of themselves.

"Like I said, the time moves differently in here." A voice said and they recognized it as Haru.

"I can't see anything!" Lucy extended her arms and tried to find someone. "Where are you all?"

The others went towards Lucy's voice and soon they found each other.

"Should we wait until dawn breaks?" Erza suggested.

"No, It's too dangerous in here. We should try and find Kaito. I'm sure he's around here somewhere…" Haru said.

"He's the other part of Natsu's soul right? But how will we find him? I can't even see my own hands…" Lucy complained.

"Well, I have an idea. Can you put me down for a bit?" Haru asked and Gray slowly put the kid down, who still swayed a bit before gaining his balance. No one saw what he was doing, but they didn't have to see, for soon they could hear soft humming coming from the boy's direction. It was a simple yet a very beautiful melody. It had a sad vibe, but it seemed to have a lot hope in it.

Soon, the party could finally see something. Light.

It was faint at first, only a few dots in the distance that seemed to disappear and appear again. Soon, more small dots could be seen and they seemed to be moving closer and closer.

"What are those?" Gray asked, but Haru kept humming without answering.

Then, the scenery before them was engulfed with light, and it looked like a huge wave was about to crash to them soon. It looked beautiful but at the same time it was terrifying.

"H-Haru! Is this really a good idea?" Lucy asked as her voice was shaking.

The light was reaching them and they could see Haru smiling back at them. He seemed confident but the others still felt unsure.

The melody Haru was humming slightly changed. The tempo calmed down and it became a sweet lullaby. Even the three started to feel sleepy while listening to it.

The lights seemed to slow down ahead and then, they all rose high in the air making a big curtain of light. It was beautiful. The three could only stare at the thousands small lights. Haru calmly hummed the melody and he was looking very happy. He even swayed a bit by the rhythm. The lights were still moving closer but they were flying high in the air. They soon reached us and the humming stopped. The small lights rained on them gently, making it look like the stars were falling down on them.

When the three could finally see what the lights really were, they were really surprised.

"Fireflies?" Lucy asked and blinked a few times.

Haru turned at us with a bright smile and nodded.

"But how? Did you just… call them?" Gray asked and looked at a small firefly that had decided to rest on his hand.

"Yeah, I'll explain that later too but let's just get moving, okay?" Haru smiled and started walking ahead.

The fireflies were lighting their road as they walked ahead in the forest. The trees and the flowers, even the grass, were completely different from the Earthland's. They somehow seemed more… alive. Lucy however, was being paranoid.

"H-hey, did that flower just whisper something?" Haru gave a laugh.

"Lucy, flowers can't talk." Erza said to her. The three couldn't see Haru's face but he had a mysterious smile on his face.

'_You're wrong!' _Haru thought in his mind. _'But I think it's best if I don't tell them that yet. They would just freak out…'_

"R-right." She answered and tried to cover up the fact that she was very scared.

The rest of the journey in the wood she kept saying how everything seemed to be alive and willing to eat her. The others just gave small sighs every time she said something like: "That tree just gave a really creepy look just now, I'm sure of it!"

Haru just laughed inside at the three's actions.

"By the way, if I remember right, you said that there's no such thing as a body in this world. What about us? I still think we're in one piece." Erza then remembered and Lucy and Gray seemed to suddenly remember it too.

"Because the portal was created by us, your soul and body are still as one. Usually the body and soul would fly off somewhere and the body would probably disappear after a while since it doesn't have a soul anymore. But because we can control how the soul and body will act, you'll body and soul will stay intact, don't worry." Haru said and smiled sweetly. Lucy gave a big sigh of relief.

There was so many things the three didn't know about this new world they had arrived in but they had no other choice than to wait until Haru explained everything. Right now they just seemed to be in a big hurry somewhere. They didn't even know where they were going!

But still, the three trusted Haru. Even though he wasn't Natsu, he still reminded them of him. And that's why they could trust him. No matter what, they would stick with him until this journey reached it's end. After all, there was no going back anymore.


	7. Meeting

**I'm so so sorry for taking so long with this chapter!**

**I'm glad that people like this story so far. Please tell me if there's something wrong with the story and I'll try to fix it!**

**Yay! It's Christmas soon! Merry Christmas to everyone! This chapter is my very small Christmas present to you all! It would be nice if you'd tell me something about your Christmas if you leave a review! (If you feel like it) I'm spending my Christmas with my family and I'm going to eat a lot of cake and candies! :)**

**Anyways, enjoy the new chapter!**

After a long time of walking they finally reached the end of the forest.

A very small river was cutting through the small opening and it glistered as the fireflies danced on its surface. A red bridge ran over the river and someone was leaning to the railing, looking at the water running slowly below. The person didn't seem to be in a hurry anywhere and the serene scene somehow calmed the minds of the three mages.

First, they couldn't see who the person was but after the fireflies flew closer to the figure, Haru recognized the person.

"Kaito!" He shouted happily and the figure turned to look to our direction.

Haru ran towards the figure as fast as his small legs would carry and the person caught him in a hug.

"That's…Kaito…?" Erza asked silently.

"Apparently…" Gray said.

The three silently walked closer to the two, not wanting to interrupt anything.

"Are you okay?" They heard a voice ask. It was a calm and a serious voice, but still had a familiar sound.

"Yeah! And guess what! I found the three wizards too!" Haru explained happily.

"Thank you, Haru." Kaito answered.

"Hehe." Haru gave a small laugh.

"They're right there!" Haru said and pointed the three.

The figure had been kneeling down to match Haru's eye-level but now he rose up and the three could see him properly now.

They could only stare. Their mouths dropped open and eyes widened.

The first thing that caught their attention was his hair. It wasn't pink like Natsu's, it was black.

The second thing was that he was much taller than Haru, in fact, he was the same height as the three. And he definitely wasn't a child. No, this person was around their age.

Unlike Haru and Natsu, the air around this person was cool. He looked calm and serious but his eyes were the same. They had a fire burning inside them.

He wore a short, black coat that only had a long sleeve on his left side and the other side didn't have a sleeve at all, revealing the red bandanna he wore on his arm. The jacket had a red hood and was decorated by a red belt that ran through the lower part. He wore simple black trousers with the coat and a gray tank top could be seen underneath. He eyed the three a bit suspiciously before his look seemed to soften, just a bit.

"So you are his friends. Thank you for coming." The boy said and gave a small bow of appreciation.

The three didn't know what to say. This boy was completely different from Natsu. Not only did he look a lot different, this boy also had good manners!

"We should go to the central. It's not safe in here." Kaito then said and Haru nodded.

"Central? What's that?" Gray asked but he somehow already knew the answer.

"You'll see." Kaito answered calmly and turned around. Haru ran before Kaito with excitement burning in his eyes. "Are we going on Malu?"

Kaito gave a small smile at Haru. "Yeah."

Haru seemed very excited but the three mages had no idea what to expect. And they somehow knew that even if they would ask, the only answer they would get would be: 'You'll see.' So they didn't even bother asking for more information.

The party walked into the forest on the other side of the river and soon came to a big opening.

Before the three had time to even ask why they stopped there, Kaito raised his right hand to his neck and softly touched it with two fingers.

First, a strange noise started to come from his direction. It sounded like someone was hitting stones together. First it was slow then it sped up. Kaito raised his chin up and closed his eyes. He seemed to be concentrating on the sound. The sound got faster and faster, and deeper and darker. What they first thought was strange, had now become mysteriously a beautiful sound. The sound really made the three realize that they had arrived in a whole different world.

Suddenly, the wind seemed to blow faster. Even though they had heard the leaves rustle countless times before, this wind seemed to carry many strange sounds. It almost sounded like someone was gently whispering prayers. At the same time they felt like the sound was soothing their souls, but also that if they listened it for too long they would be mesmerized by the sound and something bad would happen.

Soon, a big figure flew over them with a great speed. They didn't have the time to see what it was, but it soon appeared again, flying slower and lower.

"What is that?" Lucy shouted.

"Kaito is calling Malu!" Haru exclaimed happily.

"What is-" Before Lucy could finish her question, a big gust of wind blew over them and a big figure descended before them.

After the wind no longer blew so hard, they all turned to look at the creature that had now appeared.

It was different from anything they had seen before.

It was a big creature. It somehow looked like a frog, yet somehow like a fish. Its head was quite flat, but they could still see the two big eyes that were now staring at them, as if waiting for orders.

It had a long tail, that got slimmer towards the end but it still looked very strong. The creature had two fins, that looked more like wings. They were completely different from the rest of the body. They were thin like the finest silk and it seemed that if someone would touch them, they could break. It also had four small round legs that were almost completely hidden under the creature.

Kaito was no longer making the strange sound and he walked towards the big animal. "K-Kaito, is that really safe?" Lucy asked with her voice wavering. She was clearly afraid of the creature.

"It's okay, Lucy. It's our friend!" Haru exclaimed happily and ran after Kaito.

The creature then opened its mouth and Lucy yelped.

"It's going to eat you!" She shouted.

The three could hear Kaito sigh, even though he was standing further away.

"It's not going to eat anyone..." Kaito said calmly but they knew that he was slightly annoyed by the noisy mages.

And just like Kaito said, the creature didn't eat anyone. Instead, a long pink tongue appeared from the creature's mouth. Haru then jumped on it and ran over the creature's flat head and jumped behind it. His childish laughter could be heard clearly from the animal's back.

Kaito too, walked on the creature's tongue, like it was a ladder, and was making his way towards the creature's head calmly like always.

"W-wait a sec! What are you _doing_!" Gray shouted.

Kaito turned to look at the three with an annoyed look on his face. Then he just sighed again and walked towards the three.

"I suppose I have to explain this to you or our departing is going to take a lot of time." Kaito said and gave a small sigh again.

"This here-" Kaito started and pointed at the big, blue creature. "-Is called Malu."

The creature made a strange sound, almost like it was introducing itself.

"As you probably have already guessed, we are able to call animals, such as the fireflies and creatures like Maru, to help us. They all have their own 'jobs' to do and when they form a contract with an animal master like me and Haru, they vow to serve us every time we need. You understand everything up until now?" Kaito paused and eyed the three.

"I think..." Lucy said.

"So what are these 'jobs'?" Erza then asked.

"The fireflies serve as guides and informants. Like birds, they know a lot about the happenings around here. And as for Malu, his job is to take the animal masters from a place to another."

"Right. What are the animal masters exactly?"

"I'll explain that to you later. Now we have to go. Come on, Malu will take us to the central." Kaito said and turned around.

The three just silently followed after him. The tongue wasn't like they thought it would be. It wasn't slippery and soft like tongues usually were, it was hard.

"So that's how it doesn't feel any pain when we walk on its tongue." Erza just stated and they climbed on the flat animal's back.

The frog-like animal pulled its tongue back in, and its wavy 'wings' slowly started to flutter.

The wind was blowing faster and faster around them, but on the creature's back, they didn't even feel a breeze. It was almost like they were inside something. And soon they saw that they really were inside a barrier as a leaf stuck in the air right before them. The three mages couldn't help when their faces were filled with surprise yet again.

"Amazing! What is this?" Erza asked and Kaito seemed to be just slightly amused.

"This is Malu's great attribute. By the ability of controlling wind, he creates a barrier around himself to protect himself from enemies and the strong headwind." Kaito's eyes gleamed from excitement just for a short moment before it was gone and his usual serious look was back.

But the three had definitely witnessed a side of him that reminded them, once again, about Natsu.

**A/N: So that was the new chapter! I wasn't really sure about Kaito's hair, or personality, or clothes, but it turned out like.. that . I really hope you liked and it would be great if you'd leave me a review. (You don't even know how happy I get when I get a review)**


	8. Explaining

**Hello my readers!  
>Since I've finally gotten over my writer's block I'm updating this story too.<br>I'm sure that most of you don't even remember this story so you might want to re-read this to avoid possible confusion.  
>I'm going to answer any possible questions that people have had until now:<strong>

**NatsuxLucy4ever: YAY! But, I'm still stuck on the whole forty years thing...Does that mean that NATSU LOOKS 40 YEARS OLD?! That's craziness. I hope that's not the case...**  
><strong>A: No, Natsu does not look forty years old. His body is currently sleeping somewhere and it means that the time has currently stopped moving for him.<strong>

**This chapter will be short and full of explaining but I hope it will make even a little sense to you.**  
><strong>Happy reading!<strong>

The night sky was dark but up in the sky, the stars could be seen clearly. Some were slightly bigger, some were smaller from what the three friends were used to see in Earthland. But in this new world they had arrived in, uncertain and lost, the stars calmed their hearts and mind.

The moon was different from the one in Earthland. This moon was big and icy white, like it could freeze them all any moment. It told them, once again, about how different this world was from theirs.

The animal had taken them high in the air and was gently flying onwards like carrying a sleeping child which made all of the passengers sleepy, expect for Kaito who was sitting in the front like keeping watch for any enemies to come.

Haru crawled closer to the older boy and tugged his shirt a bit.

He looked very adorable doing that, and the three understood why Kaito acted to differently around him. His figure definitely made one feel urge to protect him no matter what.

"Hey, Kaito?" He started sweetly. Kaito didn't turn to look at him even when Haru lifted Kaito's hand so that he could travel under it to look at Kaito's face.

"What is it?" Kaito asked softly.

"I was just thinking... It's going to take a while to travel to central... So wouldn't this be a good chance to explain a few things to Erza, Lucy and Gray?"

Kaito now lowered his head to look at the younger boy in the face.

"I guess you're right." He said with a voice that told the three that he wore a smile on his face.

He got up and walked closer to the three mages and sat down again.

The moonlight was so bright that they could see each other very clearly. Kaito had his eyes closed for a while, as if he was thinking where to start, before he opened them.  
>"Like you have probably noticed, this world is a lot different from yours. You are an exception because of our powers, but everyone else in this world don't have a body like you do, meaning that there isn't death or birth in this world. You won't notice the difference since every soul exists in a solid form here." While Kaito explained, Haru had moved next to him and he kept listening and swaying happily.<p>

"Another difference is that in this world there is no magic but other powers to keep it in balance."

"And what are those?"

"Instead of magic, we have elements."

"Elements? Like earth and water?"

"Right. We have four elements in this world. Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Like mages in Earthland, some people gather together to train how to use the elements and use them to perform missions."

"That's exactly what we do!" Lucy said.

"Yes. But unlike in your world in here everyone is capable of using them, but some choose not to."

"What about us?" Kaito shook his head.

"You won't be able to use these powers since you still have your body."

"But you are able to use these powers?" Erza asked.

"Yes, since we are only parts of a soul."

The three friends stayed silent for a while, trying to think of something to ask.

"You said that you are animal masters. What about that power?" Lucy asked.

"The power to make pacts with animals...It is very similar to your power of calling spirits, only in this world the animals are being called from this world. For one to attain this power one must study nature very carefully."

"So that's what you have been doing for the last forty years?" Kaito nodded.

"We have also been training for Haru's journey in your world." He continued.

The three fell silent for a while.

"So what now?" Gray asked and stared at Kaito. He answered Gray's look before turning away.

"We must find a way to separate your body from your soul safely." Kaito said.

There was a pause before the three mages simultaneously shouted: "WHAT!?"

Kaito looked a bit annoyed again.

"The place where Natsu is sleeping is a holy ground and it's protected by a barrier. You cannot go through it as long as you have your bodies intact. That's why we must separate your body but keep it near so you can return to it after you have pieced Natsu's soul together again."

"But what our bodies where to disappear?" Kaito looked very serious.

"You wouldn't be able to leave this world ever again."

**And that's it for now.  
>If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'll be happy to answer them.<br>Until next time!**


	9. Marveling

**Yes, it's another update!  
>Aren't you a lucky reader?<br>Thank you for your feedback, made me really happy!  
>I'm going to answer a reader question:<br>Guest:  
>Wouldn't their souls be split if they go to the other world?<br>A: No, Haru has the power to keep their bodies and souls together. While they are on their journey their bodies are 'sleeping' inside their souls. I'm not really that sure either what it means. ^^'**

**Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter as much I liked writing it!**

Since traveling to the place called 'Central' took so much time the three mages had all had the time to get a mental image of what the place would look like.  
>Erza thought it would be a town much like Magnolia. Lucy thought that it would be a large castle. Gray was quite certain that no matter what the place looked like it would be filled with animals.<p>

But none of them were able to prepare to what they would see soon.

The huge creature they were riding made out of the thick forest they were in and they finally saw the place called 'Central'.

It was an enormous city that climbed towards the sky in many levels. It was very wide from the bottom and it got smaller towards the sky. All the buildings were pearly white color and since the moonlight hit them directly they all seemed to glow. Huge green gardens could be seen even from very far away but the most beautiful thing about the town was that a cliff rested above it and a waterfall fell right on top of it, creating rivers that ran down it.

Gray had been right about the animals. There were many smaller creatures than Malu flying around the city but also much bigger ones.  
>All together the city seemed very lively even in the middle of the night and its beauty was without comparison.<p>

"Welcome to Central, The biggest town in this world." Kaito stood up and announced with pride.

The three mages got up too and their eyes went wide in wonder.

"So this is... Central..." Erza gasped. They tried to carve this scene deep into their memories since it was just breathtakingly beautiful.

Malu slowly flew toward the upper part of the city.

The three mages tried to see what kind of people lived in such town but they were too high to make out any people. All the houses seemed to have gardens which looked well taken care of and the waterways were all decorated with the same pearly white stone as well as all the roads.

There was a huge building at almost the top of the city which reminded them of a church though it was at least ten times bigger than any of the biggest churches they had seen or heard of.

"What is that building?" Lucy asked.  
>"That-" Kaito turned too look at the three with a smile.<p>

"-is our elemental users' main meeting place. It's like our guild."

"What!? But it's enormous!" Kaito's smile seemed to get even wider.

"Yes. And there are four more buildings like this in this world. The northern tower of wind, the eastern tower of earth, the southern tower of fire and the western tower of water."

"Why are they named after the elements?" Gray asked.

"That's because they are places where we go to train the elements to."

"So what's this building called then?"

"The central tower of wisdom. Every elemental user has to start their journey from here and once powerful enough this place will provide the users missions of their level to perform."

Right then Malu descended to the ground softly like a feather.

"Yay! I wonder if Mae is here?" Haru said and jumped off the big creature before running towards the huge building.

"Haru, don't run off too far." Kaito warned the younger.

"I know~!" Came an answer.

The mages jumped off the creature too and Kaito sent it off with a thank you. Soon they all stood before a huge pair of doors which were guarded by some men.

Kaito walked up to them and showed them something that he took from his pocket. Then he seemed to explain something about the three mages. The guards nodded and soon the big doors opened.

Haru seemed overjoyed to be in the central tower and even Kaito seemed a bit more relaxed.

The five walked in and the mages had to once again marvel the beauty of the building. There were big glass windows everywhere and they were all different colors and shapes, making the insides look very colorful as the moonlight still shined brightly. Not a single candle was needed to light the space. Big, white pillars rose to the very tall roof and a plant seemed to grow on every one of them. The plants had deep red colored roses that bloomed even in the middle of the night.

The most beautiful thing inside the building was however its walls. Most of the walls were hid behind a curtain of water and the falling water connected to make a river run next to the wall. The only sound they could hear was their own footsteps and the gentle flow of water. Kaito and Haru seemed to know where they were going and the mages just followed them. They soon went through another pair of doors which were a lot smaller than the doors they came through before entering a garden. The three didn't have much time to take in the beauty of this place before the were once again inside. This room was as enormous as the hall they had first been in but this rooms walls weren't covered in water, they were covered with shelves full of books. The two element users decided to climb an enormous staircase before they came to the second level. This level was also covered in shelves and books but it was obvious that they weren't there to read.

They walked across the room before they came to another pair of doors. These doors weren't white like the other doors had been, they were dark wood and had golden ornaments in them.

"Just leave the talking to me." Kaito just said before the doors opened.

The first thing they saw was darkness. They walked forward until they started seeing small lights around them. They recognized them as candles that were hanging from the roof and they slowly increased in number as they walked forward. Soon the room was nice and light and they finally saw what there was at the end of the room.

There was only a single window in the room and before it stood someone.

Kaito and Haru knelt down on the floor and seemed to bow.

"Master. We have returned from our personal task." The figure did not move.

"Was your task successful?" A light male voice asked.

"Yes Master." The man called 'Master' turned around and the mages could then see him properly.

He was so different from any man they had ever seen. He was tall, lightly build male and he had very long hair that had been braided very neatly and it reached down to his knees. His skin seemed perfect, there wasn't even a scratch on his face where he had a small, noble smile. He wore a clothing that resembled the mages of a white kimono and a golden kimono loosely on top of the other. He looked almost like a woman. The air around him was mysterious and very powerful.

The three mages soon found themselves kneeling in front of this powerful and graceful figure.

"Welcome Earthlanders." The figure said and gave a small bow.

"It has been too long since I have seen any new faces. Please, have a seat." The three mages hadn't seen any furniture in the room but when they lifted their heads they saw that five chairs had appeared before them. It was silly but they had never seen such amazing wooden chairs before. They had so many details that it was impossible to appreciate their beauty at first look.

The five sat down and the mages finally saw where the chairs had come from. The 'Master' walked a few steps closer before, at lighting speed, wines appeared from the darkness and created a much bigger and beautiful chair for him. He sat on it like nothing had happened while the three mages had to force themselves not to let their jaw drop in amazement.

Erza found herself wondering about how old the man was. He looked no more than twenty four or so but he could easily be hundreds of years old... maybe even thousands? She would probably never know but it was clear that the man had been around for a really long while.

"Master, we have come to you to ask for help." Kaito said.

"I realize that. You wish to enter the holy ground and awaken the sleeping boy, is that correct?" The man asked calmly.

"Yes, that's correct." Kaito seemed nervous all of the sudden.

"Unfortunately there isn't much I can do to help you with your task."

Kaito's eyes met with the 'Master's.

"But Master-"

"-However, I can tell you where you will find help." The man continued calmly. Kaito let his head fall as if he were in shame.

"You must travel north, to the crystal mountain, and find the mountain rose. You have to bring it to the forests in west where you will find the water spirit Demial. She will help your friends to separate from their bodies safely." The man had a mysterious glint in his eyes, like he knew something we didn't.

"Thank you, Master." Kaito thanked him before we left the room.

–

Kaito and Haru walked ahead of the three when they were crossing the great hall in silence.

"Kaito..." Haru said in almost a whisper.

"What is it?" Kaito answered in the same volume.

"Do you think...Master is testing us?" Kaito didn't look at Haru.

"No. I don't think so. But..." Kaito glanced behind them.

"I think he's testing them."  
>Before they could ponder the matter any longer Kaito suddenly felt a weight on his shoulders.<p>

He took a quick turn to see a familiar face.

"Shin...it's nice to see you again." To Kaito and Haru he didn't apparently appear any different from them but for the three Earthlanders the young man was a strange sight.

He was a tall young man with a medium long hair and he was also very slim build, like the Master in central. He seemed like the type to wear a smile even if he didn't feel like smiling. He wore a long, white coat that reached to his ankles and it had a furry hood and golden trimmings and embroidery. But the fact that he was wearing such warm clothing wasn't really the strange part. It was the fact that he was floating a bit from the ground.

"He's.." Erza started.  
>"floating.." Gray finished the thought. Haru noticed that the three were surprised.<p>

"This is Shin! He uses the wind element to fly. Isn't it cool?" Haru explained with his voice full of excitement. The said person then flew behind the boy and grabbed him under his armpits before lifting him in the air. Haru started giggling with the cutest voice and the large hall made his laughter echo.

Shin seemed like a very brotherly figure to Haru that moment and when they looked at Kaito he was also wearing a smile on his face when he saw Shin playing with Haru.

"Shin was the one who found us when we came to this world. He helped us with everything we needed and he has really become an important existence to us." They hadn't expected Kaito to speak about their relationship with the older but knowing this made them somehow relieved yet very sad. After all, they would be the ones to break this relationship.

"Shin, what have you come for?" Kaito then asked and Shin descended to put Haru on the ground. Then he flowed towards the door and stopped to point at it.

"You want us to follow?" Kaito asked and Shin nodded. They followed the older boy out of the building. It became clear then that Shin was mute.

When they were outside Shin descended to the ground and walked away from the group. He then inhaled deeply before opening his mouth to...sing.

The three were mesmerized once again. No voice came out of his mouth yet he sang with his eyes closed and hands swaying with an unheard rhythm. The air started to move around them. They knew something was about to appear.

They didn't have time to see it before it was already on the ground. It walked beside the tall man and he petted its head. The creature looked exactly like a white tiger. It seemed to purr when he got attention from its master and its tail moved in pleasure. The creature was certainly a lot smaller than Malu, but even then they would all fit well on its back.

"Shin... are you telling us that you will take us?" Kaito asked. Shin nodded with a smile.

"Shin usually spends his time in the northern tower and there isn't a place in the northern region that he wouldn't be familiar with. If we want to find this flower there is no better guide than him." Kaito seemed to be thinking out loud and realizing the things he said that moment. Shin only nodded at Kaito's explanation. It was surprising how confident he was but it just meant that he had been around for some time too.

"Thank you, Shin. You are always here to help us." Kaito said and gave a smile before his usual serious look was back.

"Alright, lets go." We all climbed on the tigers back and soon we were running through the air in high speed.

**I hope you enjoyed it  
>If you have any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them. There is a big possibility that I have made some mistakes too so feel free to point them out and I will be sure to fix them.<br>Feedback much appreciated. **


	10. Learning

**Hello my lovely readers, it's time for another chapter of Lost and Found!**

**If you are curious of what Shin looks like, lets just say he looks a lot like Fai from Tsubasa Chronicle.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and remember to ask if you are uncertain of something!**

The sun finally began to rise in the horizon after a long while of flying. The tall, snow covered mountains were becoming to their view and the air was slowly cooling. They still flew for a while and the sun rose up so that it was finally lighting their journey. Shin soon ordered soundlessly for the white tiger to descend at the bottom of a mountain. They got off and the mages were surprised to find that their bodies didn't feel tired at all.  
>"Strange... I don't feel sleepy or tired at all." Gray voiced their thoughts. Kaito turned to him and it seemed like he was happy to explain.<p>

"That's because your bodies aren't under any pressure. Even though you still have your bodies they are inside of you in a sleep-like state. You won't age or feel tired as long as you're here."

"So...people in this world don't need any rest?" Erza asked. Kaito nodded.

"That's right. The last time we had any sleep was when we were still 'Natsu'."

"Well that helps a lot with our journey." Gray stated and they all agreed on that.

Haru then pulled Kaito's jacket to get his attention.  
>"Hey... You have to call Jili now." Haru said. There was a hidden meaning behind those words but Kaito seemed to understand it. He nodded and hummed a few short notes. A small, red dragon flew to rest on Kaito's shoulder.<p>

"Jili, my sword." He said and the dragon opened its mouth to reveal a handle of a sword. Kaito took the handle and pulled a sword out of the dragon's mouth. It was still in its scabbard but it was clear it was long and wide and probably very heavy. Haru then skipped in front of Kaito, who knelt down, and told the dragon:  
>"Jili, my spear." The dragon opened its mouth once again and Haru then pulled out a spear. Both of the weapons were unlike what the three had ever seen. They had beautiful carvings and both of them had a long, red string tied on them.<p>

The three mages didn't have much time to be amazed by what had happened when Shin flicked his fingers and a small, white rabbit with huge ears and very short legs appeared. Shin seemed to whisper something to it and it opened its mouth too. Shin pulled his weapon out. It was a tall staff. There was a white string tied on his staff and Lucy felt curious about it.

"Is there any meaning to those strings that you have on your weapons?" Kaito looked like he had forgotten to tell them something.

"They are a mark of our status."

"Your status?"

"Our clothes and the strings on our weapons are a mark of our strength. Green is the weakest, then there is yellow, blue, red and white."

"So... Shin is stronger than you!?" Erza almost shouted in surprise. Kaito nodded.

"By far. He is S-class which is very rare. There are only about twenty people who are currently S-class. We are A-class."

"What about your Master?" Kaito seemed to smirk a bit.

"He is special. He is currently the only gold class. His ranking is SS-class."

"How do you determine how strong you are?"

"We hold tournaments once every year. There we show what powers we have and how many elements we can use. There is a number of how many will be accepted to rise to the next level and that's why we fight each other to find who the strongest one is."

"That's quite amazing." Gray admitted. Suddenly Shin flew behind the two elemental users and hugged them and poked their cheeks.

"Yeah,yeah, we're amazing, I know." Kaito said in annoyance.

"Me and Kaito are the first ones to reach A-class so quickly. Others have taken at least 50 or 60 years to reach it. Isn't it great!?" Haru exclaimed and Shin nodded furiously while snuggling his face against Haru's.

"I didn't know you were such important people." Erza said in surprise.

"We're not. We were just lucky." Kaito said seriously.

"Anyways, let's continue. We have a long way ahead." He continued and the party was off to find the mountain rose.

–

Shin's tiger took the party to about halfway of the mountain before it descended and left them on the icy mountain. Lucy took a handful of snow on her hand.

"It's strange... It doesn't feel cold." Kaito was looking ahead when he answered her.

"That's also due to your body sleeping inside of you." Only now did they notice how tense the three element users were.

"Is something wrong?" Erza asked. She felt like they would get the explanation for why the three took weapons to the mountain.

"Though I said there is no death in this world, we still have enemies who are able to make us disappear."

"Disappear? What are you talking about?" Lucy asked. Haru, Kaito and Shin had formed a circle around them.

"They are shadows. And right now we are vulnerable since we have to protect you. And since you just came to this world your spiritual power is strong and it attracts the shadows even more than usual."

"Is there anything we can do?" Gray asked. Kaito met his gaze for only a second.  
>"The only thing you can do is stay close to us. Though we are strong, the shadows are fast. They only need a second to devour your soul."<p>

The circle was tightened before they continued their journey.

–

After a while they came to an entrance to a cave. Shin guided them inside and lighted their way with his staff.

Lucy wasn't really feeling safe in such narrow space.

"Hey.. are you sure this is safe?" She asked uncertainly.

"It's safe as long as we don't get any company." Kaito answered. Then, unexpectedly, a loud roar could be heard from the direction they came from. The three element users ran behind the three mages to make a protective wall.

"They came sooner than I expected." Kaito admitted. They all took a fighting stance.

Lucy took a hold of Erza's arm and tried to hide behind her back.

There was an eery moment of silence before they could hear fast steps approaching them. It didn't sound like human steps, it sounded like a pack of dogs with their claws hitting the ground. Soon they could see the figures.

They looked more like wolves than dogs but their fur was dark as coal and eyes were fiery red. They were at least three times bigger than a normal wolf. They had stopped running and now they just stood before the party and growled dangerously. They counted that there was at least five of them. It was hard to see behind them because of their size.

Then they attacked and the three Earthlanders could finally witness how an element user fought. Haru was actually _laughing _when he fought. He moved smoothly and avoided all the attacks the wolves did before doing an attack on his own. He hit the ground with his spear before removing it. A crack was made on the floor and from that crack a tree started to grow so fast that the eye couldn't follow. Haru's tree caught two wolves and made them immobile. They growled angrily and tried to reach Haru as he stood right before them.  
>"Serves you right!" He said playfully before showing his tongue to them.<p>

Haru's attack was amazing but Shin's was even more so. He only blew something that looked a lot like dust off his hand and soon three wolves had become completely frozen.

The last wolf tried to attack Kaito, but just with the flick of his wrist the beast was down as he used his sword to fight. He put the sword back to its scabbard and turned to the three.

"Are they...dead?" Lucy asked carefully. Haru shook his head.

"No, there is no death in this world and especially not for them." He explained

"What does that mean?" Haru turned to look at the wolves again and pointed.

"Look." He said. And true, the six wolves soon dissipated into the air and headed for the exit.

Before the party had time to react, the cave suddenly started shaking.  
>"What's happening?!" Lucy shouted and covered her ears in fear.<p>

"The cave- it's going to collapse!" Kaito shouted alarmed. "RUN!" He ordered and no one wasted a second. They didn't have much time before stones started to fall on them. They covered their heads with their hands as they ran but it was too late. Soon a bit bigger rock fell before Erza and she had to stop running. Gray was right next to him and he would've been hit by another rock if Shin hadn't jumped to push him away. There was a loud sound of the cave collapsing before there was darkness and complete silence.

Erza had fallen to the ground after the ground had shaken terribly. Now she slowly got up and tried to feel for any injuries. She didn't find any. "Gray? Lucy? Are you there?" She asked with a quiet voice. She heard a groan that sounded familiar.

"I'm here." Gray's voice said.

"Hey! Are you alright!?" A loud shout could be heard. It was Haru's voice but it sounded muffled, like he was in another room. Erza walked towards the sound and found that the cave had collapsed, leaving the group split in two. She tried to feel for any holes but she couldn't find any. It was too dark.

"We're alright, are you?" Erza replied.

"Yes. We're alright." As soon as Haru had said that, a bright light came from behind Erza. She looked behind her to find Shin, who was holding his staff and making it shine brightly. He wore a relaxed smile once again that hid his other feelings behind it like a mask.

"Shin, does the cave continue out of the mountain?" Kaito asked from behind the wall of stones. Erza looked at Shin to see his answer. Shin nodded and pointed ahead.

"It seems like it does." Erza answered.

"Good. We're going to go back the way we came from. Let's meet at the exit as soon as possible." Kaito said.

"Agreed." Erza answered and the other group was off.

"We should go too." She said and Gray nodded. Shin jumped up to float again. He moved smoothly and quite fast as the two walked behind him.

It was a quiet journey.

Erza, however, was in deep thought. She wondered how much Shin knew about their mission to save Natsu. Did he know that they were going to steal away his precious friends? And if he did, how could he still smile and help them? She decided that just wondering about it wouldn't get her anywhere.

"Shin, do you know what will happen to Haru and Kaito after this mission is finished?" Erza asked with a very serious tone. Shin slowed down and turned to face them. He still wore his usual smile but it was definitely filled with sadness. He nodded.

"Then why are you helping us? We're the ones who will steal them away from you." Gray looked at Erza before turning to look at Shin with same seriousness as she. Shin then floated before them and gently rested his index finger and middle finger on Erza's forehead as well as Gray's.

The two hadn't expected to hear a voice in their head.

"_I'm helping you because it was me who stole your important person away." _The two mages didn't understand the meaning of his words.

"What do you mean?" Shin looked away from Erza in shame.

"_The reason Kaito and Haru have stayed here for so long is because of me. They could have left here earlier if I hadn't kept them from finding out the truth about their existence." _

"But Kaito and Haru said that they have been training for the last forty years. Are you saying they wouldn't have had to do that? And what do you mean by the truth about their existence?"

"_There is still too much you don't know about that person and his soul. But I can tell you that I am responsible for not letting them find you sooner. I'm so sorry about that and I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I realize now that I have been wrong and I hope that you will succeed on your mission."_

Gray and Erza shared an unsure look before giving a tiny nod. Shin gave another small smile before retreating his hands and continuing to float ahead.

–

They soon saw light ahead and they came to a very wide part of the cave. There was a hole in the roof where the light came in and water ran down the walls. The ground was covered with flowers that bloomed in multiple different colors.

"Amazing.. Even in such place there is a meadow..." Erza breathed and took in the scenery. Shin continued forward and flew over the flower field. It was clear he was searching for something and soon he stopped before picking something up. He flew towards the two mages and handed them the flower.

It was a pure white rose.

"Is this the mountain rose?" Gray asked. Shin nodded happily.

"Great! Can you show us the way out now?" Erza asked and the group of three was moving again.

–

It took a while before they reached the exit. To save time Shin called the flying tiger and they were off to find the other piece of their party at the other side of the mountain.

The party was soon re-united. Haru ran to hug his three friends happily as soon as he saw their figures approaching.

"You're all fine!" He shouted happily. Shin grabbed the child to lift him up from the ground, earning a heartfelt laugh from him.

Erza walked up to Kaito.

"We found the mountain rose." She said and handed the white rose.

Kaito's eyebrows rose for a moment before his face melted and he gave a genuine smile.

"Thank you. Now we can continue our journey." Shin had put Haru on the ground and was about to call their ride.

"Wait Shin, I'll call Malu. It's a long journey to the western forests." Shin smiled and nodded.

But before anyone had time to do anything something terrifying happened. A painful cry was heard behind them.

They all turned to look who it was and for their horror they saw Haru clutching his head as his mouth was open in a silent scream. It was clear that it was too painful for him to even scream.  
>"HARU!" Kaito shouted and ran to the child before anyone else had time to react.<p>

The child fell on his knees and Kaito fell to the ground with him and held him up.

The rest of the party ran to see what was happening to Haru only to find his eyes filled with fear. His body shook as he seemed to be looking at a scene that none of them saw.

"Ga-ah-! It's _him!_" He gasped. Kaito's grip got more firm and he tried to get the younger to look him in the eye.

"What's happening?" Kaito looked very worried.

"The time is running out...!" Haru said in a pained voice before he gasped loudly and he fell to Kaito's arms. Kaito seemed to be too shocked to move from his spot on the ground.

"Is he okay? What's going on?" Lucy asked worriedly. Kaito stared for Haru for a long while before pulling him close and lifting him up the ground to his arms. He didn't answer Lucy's question.

"Kaito, what did he mean when he said our time is running out?" Erza asked. Kaito turned to look her in the eye. His eyes carried a strange emotion. Then he opened his mouth to tell the three something they never wanted to hear.

"Natsu is dying."

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review if you did, alright?  
>Until next time!<strong>


	11. Demial

**It hasn't even been a week yet and I'm updating again? I'm on fire!  
>I was a bit disappointed with the amount of reviews I got on the last chapter but I must thank darkhuntressxir and Enchanted Hybrid for bothering to do this. Thank you. It makes me feel like someone is actually still reading this.<br>This story is coming to its end soon, the last chapter is going to be chapter 14 which I will probably update this week or next week since its almost ready. Though that depends entirely on the reviews...  
>As always, I hope you enjoy!<br>-**

The flight to the western forests felt very long. The day had time to turn to dusk and they had plenty of time to witness how the almost full moon rose higher and higher and how the stars came to view one by one as the darkness fell on them.

The party had remained completely silent for the whole flight. Worry held their hearts with an icy grip as the small figure remained unmoving in Kaito's arms. The conversation they had had in the mountains was still fresh in their mind.

-flashback-

"What do you mean he's dying?" Gray asked with an alarmed voice. Kaito looked serious and worried.

"It's not due to some miracle Natsu's soul and body are being held together. When his own strength to hold himself together ran out Haru had to be the one to start keeping his body and a part of his soul together. And now that Haru has collapsed it means that the last piece of his soul is trying to escape his body. When that happens his body will be destroyed and all the three parts of his soul will disappear since they can't exist if they aren't one."

"But if you disappear then..." Erza didn't finish the sentence.  
>"Then your souls and bodies will separate and you will never be able to go back to Earthland again." Kaito told them.<p>

How did things get out of hand so quickly again?  
>"Then what can we do?" Lucy asked frantically. Kaito looked at the boy in his arms.<p>

"We can only hope that Haru will be able to last the journey. That's our only hope. We must finish the mission or all will be for nothing."

The three mages shared an unsure look but they soon turned to look a bit determined.

"Let's go then." Kaito turned to look at them with a little surprise written on his face.

"Are you sure? I could have sent you back to Earthland if you would have wanted."

Erza shook her head and smiled. "Since we came here we have had no intention to go back without Natsu. The mission will succeed and we will return back to Fairy Tail, together." Erza told the two with confidence. Gray and Lucy gave encouraging smiles too. Kaito's surprised look melted into a smile once again.

"You're right. Thank you."

-flashback end-

They descended on an opening in a similar forest they had first arrived in. Malu disappeared far in the night sky when Kaito had said his thanks and allowed him to leave.  
>Even when this happening around him, Haru hadn't even stirred. Kaito carried him on his back now as they made their way through the dark forest.<br>Shin had once again lit his staff and the cold light was the only light they had to guide them. They missed the fireflies Haru had called when they came to this world the first time. Their light had been soft and beautiful and it had felt very safe. This light was from the north and so very different from the fireflies light.

Nonetheless they carried on.

After a while they heard the leaves rustling in a way that couldn't be caused by the wind.

Kaito gave Haru to Gray, who put the child on his back before locking his eyes in the spot the rusting was heard.

Kaito pulled his sword out of its scabbard and braced himself for an attack. Shin seemed to do the same.  
>If it was a big group of shadows they would be in trouble.<br>Suddenly everything went completely silent. They didn't even dare to breathe. Their eyes scanned frantically around them. Where was the enemy?

Just when Kaito was about to relax, thinking it was only some animal, a shout was heard and a figure jumped from a nearby tree.

"WHO DARES TO COME TO MY FOREST?!" The figure shouted and fell toward Kaito wielding a small blade. Kaito easily stopped the attack and managed to throw the figure a little further before it attacked again. The weapons clashed together and the two finally got a good look at each other.

"Eh! Kaito?!" The unfamiliar figure shouted.

"Huh? Is that you, Rei?" Kaito said with surprise in his voice. The two figures just stared at each other for a while before the smaller figure (who was apparently named Rei) jumped to _hit_ the unsuspecting Kaito on his cheek. He fell back a few steps and held his cheek in shock.

The other held his hands in tight balls in anger.  
>"Why haven't you come to visit me?! Do you realize how long I have been waiting for you?" Kaito sighed.<p>

"I have had better things to do." As the two continued their bickering the rest of the group had time to get a good look at the stranger.

He looked a bit older than Haru but a way younger than Kaito. His hair was dark green and it was mostly sticking upwards. It was being kept in place by a red bandanna. His clothes were muddy but it was clear that they had once been completely black with red trimmings. The clothes were light- just a vest and a pair of shorts. His feet were bare and muddy but the person himself didn't seem to mind it.

"Hey, do you think he's a person from Central too?" Lucy whispered to Erza. She just kept staring at the child.

Kaito then pulled the boy from his neck under his arm. While the younger squirmed the older pointed at the boy's head and explained:  
>"This here is Rei. He is an A-class elemental user like me and he has been guarding this forest for over twenty years now. Rei," Kaito said and turned to look at the child before letting him go. "These people have come from the other world to perform a certain mission." Rei was about to open his mouth to say something hasty but then his eyes saw the figure on Gray's back.<p>

"Hey... what's going on? Why is Haru like that?" He said with his voice trembling slightly. Kaito looked at him with seriousness.

"There isn't time to explain. Can you help us? We need to find the water spirit Demial." Rei slowly turned his head to look at Kaito. He looked shocked and scared.

"Demial..." Then he seemed to think for a while before nodding.  
>"Yeah. I can help you with that." His face had turned to look so certain that it was almost as if he had grown years just with that one look.<p>

He reached down to take a leaf from a bush and he blew on it.  
>There wasn't a silly sound like the three mages expected. It sounded like the boy was using a flute.<p>

Once again an animal appeared. It came from a direction that the Earthlanders hadn't expected. From underground.

The ground shook and soon crumbled from below Lucy and Erza but before they even had time to yelp they felt something soft underneath them. They opened their eyes to find a giant mole with a bluish fur.

"Meet my friend Jyuu." Rei said proudly before hopping on the mole's head. Gray took Haru from his back and lifted him up towards the girls who pulled him up. Gray jumped on and Kaito after him.

"Hold on, Jyuu isn't just an ordinary mole!" Rei shouted before the mole took off with more speed that they never could have imagined. They really needed to hold onto each other to stay on its back.

After a dark and bumpy ride the party finally stopped.

There was no light since the moon couldn't shine through the thick forest, leaving them in utter darkness. Everyone was completely silent. The only thing they could hear was the steady heartbeats of the gigantic mole. Then someone jumped down.

"We have to go by foot from here on." A calm voice said. It was Rei's voice but it didn't seem to fit his personality at all. It was too serious, too calm but then again it helped the party to prepare for what they were about to see.

They had to walk for a while in the dark forest, with the only guide being the slow footsteps of the young green-haired boy before them, before they reached their destination.  
>The first thing they saw was a gentle blue light coming from before them. Then they saw that the trees got further away from them before they came into a small clearing. Before they entered the clearing they stopped.<p>

Rei stayed quiet and still for some while before he calmly started explaining.

"This place is one of the few holy places in this world." He began and turned around to look at the other party members. His look was full of seriousness, yet a strange calmness lingered in his features.

"I am the one who guards this place since the guardian of this place..." He left the sentence hanging in the air. It wasn't discussed about. This was something that they shouldn't interrupt with.

"I should never open the barrier for anyone. Know that what you are about to see is something that no one else is allowed to." Rei then turned around once more before turning his gaze towards the clearing. He opened his mouth, spread his arms and arched his back until they could see his face.

Serene. That's what the moment was like. Time moved slowly around them and Rei's song seemed to cover them in a dream-like state. Everything felt warm and safe.

Their eyes opened in surprise when they saw tiny lights appearing near Rei's body. They first looked like fireflies but the party soon understood that they were way too big to be fireflies. Besides, the light they gave off was blue. The lights approached them and only then could they make out their outline. They were blue goldfishes! They swam through the air like they were in water, opening and closing their mouths.

More and more of these fishes appeared and lighted up the entire area they were in. Then they slowed down and just gently floated around them.

Only then they noticed that Rei had stopped singing and had returned to his original posture. He kept quiet for a longer time that the rest were comfortable with.

"Rei, is something wrong?" Kaito asked carefully.  
>Rei didn't answer.<br>Just when Kaito was about to step closer to him and ask again, Rei suddenly turned to face them. His expression had changed. He was looking down and his face was completely relaxed, like he was sleeping.

"Re-?" Before Kaito had time to finish Rei's head shot up towards them and his eyes were wide open before they relaxed. He suddenly seemed like a completely different person. His body was relaxed and it seemed more.. fragile.

"I am Demial, one of the last spirits in this world." He then said with a powerful, yet graceful voice. Kaito tensed at this.  
>"Demial...!" He gasped. Rei's, or rather, Demial's look softened.<p>

"You are on a sacred mission. I have watched your journey and I know what you seek." Demial's voice turned more feminine and soon a figure emerged out of Rei's body. It was a beautiful woman with a long, white hair and multiple-layered kimono on her. Her eyes were completely blue, there were no pupils or irises in them. She wore a mysterious and serene smile and it somehow calmed the travelers.

She then turned around and floated through Rei's body towards the clearing. Rei's body suddenly went limp and Kaito ran to catch him.  
>"What happened to him?" Erza asked as Kaito rested him on the ground.<p>

"His body is probably just exhausted from calling Demial and lending her his body. He will come to his senses when Demial disappears." Kaito assured them before they made their way to the clearing after Demial.

In the clearing there was a small pond and a tiny waterfall falling in it. Demial stood behind it and wore her mysterious smile.

"Will you help us?" Kaito asked seriously. Her smile grew slightly wider.

"What you seek will shape the entire balance of this world. You might even be the very reason this world will face its doom."

Time seemed to stop moving around them.

What did she say?

Did they hear wrong? Or maybe she was just playing with them?

No one could see Kaito's face. But everyone else was looking shocked. Then they turned to Kaito, waiting for him to answer something. Anything. They wanted an answer. What was she-?  
>"I know." Kaito said with a completely calm tone.<p>

What the heck was going on?

**Don't fret, everything will be revealed in the future chapters!  
>Now, please leave a review and I will guarantee faster updates for the last chapters. I also want to hear if you are happy or sad that the story is reaching its end. Has this been a good story or have you forgotten the plot somewhere along the way and just kind of read through these chapters?<br>Anyhow, we will (hopefully) "meet" again at the next chapter!**


	12. Arguing

**Enjoy! And don't forget to ask if there's anything confusing you!**

Haru's soft breathing was the only thing that Gray heard that moment. Everything else had gone completely silent. He was even wondering if his heart had stopped beating.

The only question in his mind was: had they stepped into something that they had no idea about? Suddenly everything became too big for their understanding. With Haru's collapsing something had changed and it had caused a chain reaction of happenings that they had no idea about. These things were too big, too serious, for their understanding. They had only wanted to save their friend from deaths' grip and now they were going to become the reason that this world was going to end? How did that happen?

How long had the silence gone on for? No one dared to move. The shock was too great. Kaito had known for the whole time what he was risking yet he didn't even bother to tell his companions about it.

"K-Kaito... what's going on...?" Erza finally forced herself to ask the boy before her.

Kaito's head fell for a while before he seemed to breathe in and lift his head up again.

"There is too much you don't know about Natsu." He turned to face us and he wore his serious face again. But this time it wasn't just serious, it was distant...and angry.

"It's something that even he doesn't know." He said and looked at Demial again. She still wore her mysterious smile that didn't seem to waver.

"He has the power to shape everything around him with a strength that no one can quite understand."

What was going on?

Demial seemed to give a small laugh before continuing.

"Yes... That boy will once wield a sword of death. When and where, that I do not know."

The three mages couldn't say anything. Natsu would bring death? That sentence was so _wrong_. Natsu- the very image of the spirit in Fairy Tail, so pure and strong, would bring _death_?

An image of a smiling Natsu flashed through their minds. What did they not know about him? Gray and Erza had been with him since they were children. They knew all his good and bad sides. They knew it all.

Or at least they thought they did.

"Your quest might bring out his strength and shape this world for the worst. It is a sacred mission that was not granted to you lightly. I hope you are prepared for the consequences." Demial continued.  
>Kaito nodded and did something unexpected. He knelt before the spirit and bowed.<br>"I swear for my life that I will see that he won't bring harm to no one else if something were to happen to this world." Demial nodded in approval.  
>"For you cannot save this world. It is all in his hands." She said and looked up high towards the moon, her smile never leaving her face. Then he tilted her head only slightly so she could look at the mages.<p>

"You three... come." She said and opened her palms up to greet them.

The three shared a glance before they walked towards her. They stopped when they were next to Kaito and Gray gave the sleeping boy on his shoulders to the black-haired boy.

"You have something for me." She only said and the three looked at each other confusion before Kaito got up and offered them the white rose they had picked up at the mountain. Gray took it and walked towards the white-haired woman. He stopped before the pond and offered the flower over the pond. She took it with her lean fingers and looked at it with her cold, blue eyes before letting go of it.

The flower fell into the water and right when it touched the surface of the water, the pond lit with a bright light. After the light was gone they saw numerous of the blue goldfishes flying around the pond.

"Now.. look in the water.." She almost whispered to the three. Lucy had to turn around to meet Kaito's gaze before she could muster enough courage to walk to the pond and look in it. The pond had seemed very shallow but when she looked in it she couldn't see the bottom. It went on and on and the crystal clear water showed an underwater city far, far away.

Lucy then started to feel weird. Like something was pulling her in the pond. Her hands flew to Gray's and Erza's who were right next to her but she couldn't take her eyes off the water before her no matter what it made her feel. She started to feel dizzy and she tried to close her eyes but found that she couldn't. Right when she thought she was going to pass out something let her go and she fell back on the ground along with Gray and Erza. Gray was the first to get up.

"What the heck was that?!" He asked with an angry tone from the water spirit but she just gave a mysterious smile.

"You are now able to enter the holy ground in the east." She only said.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Lucy asked.

"Look in the water." Demial said once more. Gray, however, shook his head.

"There is no way I'm looking in again!" He said angrily. When Demial didn't speak anything more, Gray found himself giving a sigh.

"Alright.." He said before he pulled the two girls with him to look in the water again.

This time there was no ill feeling but there was something very disturbing in the water. Three small figures were slowly floating up from the underwater city. What surprised them was that they were three small children. And not just any children- they were _them_! A small Lucy, Erza and Gray! They wore a white dress-like shirt and they all seemed to be unconscious-or so they hoped since they feared they were dead. The children were soon in an arms reach and Gray wasted no time to grasp them and pull them up from the pond. It was amazing how they all fit through the pond but after all nothing seemed to really make sense in that world.

The three wet bodies were surprisingly heavy and Gray fell on his back under their weight.

Erza and Lucy rushed over to look at the three children. They were no older than six years old. Lucy's hand shook as she touched her look-alike and checked if she was breathing. She was glad to find that she was.

"Hey, hey.. watch going on? Why is there a small me?" Gray asked as he held the small figure of himself. Erza was poking and pulling her look-alike on her cheeks and was clearly amused.

"Those are your bodies. I have safely separated them from your souls." Demial explained.

"But I thought Haru was keeping our bodies and souls together?" Gray asked.

"Yes. But in order for you to enter the holy grounds in the east you have to go there in your soul form." She continued.

"What is this 'holy ground in the east'?" Gray asked in confusion.

"It's the place where Natsu is sleeping." Kaito answered him. Gray's head turned around in surprise.  
>"A holy ground..?" Gray said in surprise.<p>

"Yes. And the reason your bodies can't enter is that a barrier surrounds the area. It was created so that no one would steal Natsu's body from the holy ground. No bodies will be able to go through the barrier." Kaito explained. Gray shook his head in confusion.

"Why would anyone want to _steal_ him?"

"Because of his powers." Kaito didn't offer any more explanation.

"So is Demial the only one who can safely separate bodies and souls?" Erza asked. Kaito nodded.

The three mages looked at the sleeping children.

"So what are we supposed to do with them?" Lucy asked.

"We leave them here." Kaito said.  
>"What?!" Gray almost shouted. Kaito looked annoyed because of the noise.<p>

"They will be safe inside Demial's barrier. They will return to you when all of this is over and you return to Earthland." Kaito explained.

Before anyone could say anything more, a small moan was heard from Kaito's arms.

Haru stirred before his glossy eyes opened. He looked completely exhausted. The three mages and Shin- who had stayed silent the whole time silently came closer to look at the child.

The three mages wanted to console the boy but before they could Kaito opened his mouth.

"How is _he_?" Kaito almost seemed to demand. Haru turned to look at Kaito and seemed to understand.

"I-It's not good... I can't.. hold him together for much longer..." He gasped the last part and sweat ran down his forehead. Gray gave an angry glare towards Kaito. He didn't seem to care even though Haru was suffering. Kaito only nodded.

"Alright. Don't think about anything else but your task. We'll take care of everything else." Kaito said. Haru gave a tired nod before closing his eyes and falling into oblivion once again.

"What was that all about?!" Gray demanded in a furious voice. Kaito only turned to look at him and he wore a challenging look.

"What? You have something to complain about?" He said. Gray snapped. He took a hold of Kaito's shirt and tugged him towards himself a bit.

"You bastard, don't you see how he is suffering? You only ask about Natsu when you should be worrying about Haru!" Kaito looked calm, yet furious. Then he let out a snort and opened his eyes. They looked strange.

"Have you already forgot? I'm doing this _for you_!" He hissed in anger.

"_We _are doing this _for you_!" He continued. Gray's grip loosened in shock. Kaito's breath was becoming uneven.

"We are going to disappear so that_ you_ will have your friend back." Then they saw it. There was _fear_ in those two dark orbs. Kaito was afraid of disappearing. Then he turned to look away from them.

"So let us do our final duties." As he said that Gray's hand was gone from his shirt and his anger was gone.

The matter wasn't discussed about anymore. After all, what could they say? The first thing they had said when Haru told them that they were going to disappear was that the two were going to live inside of Natsu so it wasn't like they would disappear. But they knew better now. It was naïve to think that they wouldn't disappear. For they would. And the mages would never be able to speak to them again.  
>This thought saddened them and the thought weighted more than any stone. After all, the two were already dear friends to the mages.<p>

**Reviews appreciated.  
>We're nearing the end, does that make you happy or sad?<strong>


	13. Holy ground

**Nearing the end...!  
>This chapter isn't too long but I think I might be able to get the last chapter updated this week and it's going to be the longest chapter up until now. Promise.<br>Anyways, i hope you enjoy and remember to leave a review if you did. Of course you can leave a review even if you didn't like it too..  
>~.~.~.~<strong>

Demial closed the barrier and the party saw the children one last time before they disappeared. Rei awoke right after that and he was on his feet before anyone could say anything. There was no confusion written on his face which made them sure that he remembered what had happened to him just a while ago.

"I hope you got what you needed." He said with a small smile. Kaito nodded and lifted Haru to a better position on his back.

"Yes. Thank you for everything." He said and even managed a small smile. Rei answered with even a bigger one and put his arms behind his head.

"It's no problem! Do you want me to guide you back?" He asked.

"No. we must continue our way alone." Kaito said with a slightly harsh tone.

"Oh.. okay then." Rei said a bit sadly. Kaito didn't say anything more, he just walked right past Rei.  
>Rei's smile faltered a bit and the rest of the party walked after Kaito but offered a slight bow of gratitude to the boy, unlike Kaito.<p>

When they all had gone past the boy he suddenly said something.

"H-hey Kaito!" The person in question stopped on his tracks like the rest of the gang.

"We... will see each other again, won't we?" Rei hadn't turned to look at Kaito and Kaito didn't turn around either.

The older seemed to think for a while before opening his eyes and answering with a serious look:

"No. I doubt we will see each other ever again." It was a cruel thing to say, but the fact that it was probably true was far more cruel.

Kaito's steps seemed to echo as he continued his way as everyone else had stopped. Rei still stayed facing the other way and as Shin begun to walk after Kaito the three mages had no other choice but to follow.

Lucy turned around after they had walked a good distance from Rei and saw that the boy had turned towards them and tears were streaming down his face. His teeth were gritted and his eyes were wide open as if he was scared, which he probably was. He was losing one of his (probably) best friends.

He was like the three mages, a victim of this cruel incident. The three had probably looked exactly the same when they realized for the first time Natsu might never return to their side again.

As cruel as the situation was for all of us, would things have been better if Natsu had never ended up in this world in the first place? Would it really be alright if Kaito and Haru had never existed in the first place and met these kind, strong people and become friends with them? The mages would never be able to answer that question. The heavy pain in their chests that kept reminding that _they _were the ones who were going to play the part of destroyers this time. They felt like they were no better than the bastard who had thrown Natsu in this other world in the first place and the fact made them feel a bit sick inside. But more sickened they felt when they realized that they wouldn't even try to change the course they were headed to. They would only silently follow and hope that one day the deep feeling of guilt might disappear.

–

The dawn didn't have the time to break yet as the party traveled in the air with speed that none of them had ever experienced before. Apparently the big fish-frog creature called Malu was not only big but fast too if the situation really called for it. They were at their destination in less than an hour (the mages estimated) but still they felt like they needed to speed up even more. Haru was weakening too fast. When earlier he had had a very pained expression it was slowly melting away which wasn't good. He wouldn't last for much longer.

The party didn't really have time to marvel the place when they already had to continue their way running.

The place they had arrived in was as eerie as it was beautiful. There was a very wide staircase made of the purest marble you could find and it continued higher and higher up the hill they couldn't see the end of. What made the area eerie though was the forest surrounding it. It was a big, white forest with all of its trees dead and leafless. The grass and the tiny flowers, as the dead trees, were all pearly white and gave a slight glow. There was absolutely no breeze in the air and the forest seemed to be completely frozen. Nothing was moving or making a sound. Everything was so silent that they could hear their heavy breathing and their clothes rustling and their footsteps seemed to be unnaturally loud as they climbed the marble steps. No one said anything. The staircase just went on and on.

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard. They all stopped running and turned to see how Kaito reacted slightly higher up. He held Haru slightly tighter and looked up. We soon saw what had made the noise just now.

Big, white wings appeared in our vision and a graceful figure landed before us making a loud sound with its wings. It was the most beautiful bird they had seen. It reminded the mages of the legendary creature they had once read about when they were children. Yes, it was like a phoenix. A white phoenix born of ice and snow instead of fire and they couldn't really comprehend the fact that such an amazing creature was right before them. Kaito, however, didn't seem to falter.

"We need to pass." He said with a threatening voice. The three mages didn't really find it wise to be picking a fight with such creature and they could only hope that Kaito knew what he was doing.

The bird spread its wings and to our surprise it spoke.

"This holy land is no place for you to be in!" It bellowed with a surprisingly low voice. Kaito seemed to think for a moment how to respond and they could see how his frustration was suddenly pushed back (or was it his pride?) and he did another surprising thing. He fell to his other knee and bowed deeply.

"I sincerely apologize for disturbing the peace of this holy ground. But we have come here to wake _him_ from his sleep." The three mages couldn't help when their jaws dropped a bit at his sudden change of attitude.

"That is absurd. His power is too great to be used again. He could destroy this whole world if woken."The bird didn't seem as well informed as Demial had seemed to be. She seemed to have known almost _everything _and more. Her smile had hidden many facts from them and they knew it. This creature was different. It seemed to be completely bound to this one place and he either refused to get any information about the world around him or was unable to get it from anywhere.

"We are not planning on using him. He is our friend, our companion. He is a part of me and I am a part of him. I deeply wish that you could let us pass now that I have collected the key of waking him." Kaito continued his explanation.

The four were actually surprised that they were faced with such obstacle since Kaito and Haru had said that they had been to this place before. How had they gotten past it before?

"Those humans." The bird turned to look at the three Eartlanders suddenly and they could sense the difference in their powers. It felt to them that the creature could kill them just with its gaze. They felt like it had already captured them and they were sinking deep inside a dark world that it had created. Their bodies froze and their vision faded away as the bird stared at them with an icy glare. They could feel their chests tighten and their bodies started to go numb.

'_I can't breathe! It's going to kill me!' _Lucy though as she felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes. The seconds seemed like hours. She couldn't escape.

"LUCY!" A voice shouted and for Lucy it felt like she had just been waken from a nightmare. She looked at Kaito, who was looking at her over his shoulder. He was frowning but his face was twisted in sadness. He was sorry. He turned back to look at the bird.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Erza asked. Lucy turned to look at her and saw that there was an abnormal amount of sweat dripping down her forehead and when Lucy looked at Gray he didn't look any better. Lucy quickly nodded at her and they looked back at the bird that was apparently some sort of guardian deity and it didn't seem like it would let us pass.

"We will promise you that we will make sure that he won't use his power again. We only want him back as our friend, not as a tool or a weapon." Kaito continued.

"Hmph. you humans are all like that. Your words are meaningless. You will betray my trust and use him as a weapon to destroy this world. But I won't let you, for I will destroy you here!" The bird let out a loud cry and we had to cover our ears as our eardrums hurt.

The creature flapped it's wings so that it floated just above the ground and it suddenly decided to charged at Kaito.

"WATCH OUT!" Lucy shouted but it was unnecessary. Shin jumped before Kaito and easily stopped the bird's attack with his staff.

"Why do you humans always betray me?! Why?!" The bird then cried. They then realized a surprising fact. The bird was actually sad. He was a victim too, they realized. And surely enough, its eyes got glossy and they were sure they saw a tear change into ice before falling on the stairs and shattering.

"You have realized it too, have you not? You don't have the power to protect himany longer. And hedoesn't have anymore time. You have heard it too, his dying screams, haven't you?" Kaito demanded. Dying screams? Could Kaito hear those? They couldn't be sure. But they knew who probably could. Haru.

The bird suddenly stiffed as if it would have been hit by something. It then seemed to relax and it floated back to its original position. The intimidating look it had given them was gone in a flash and its wings were neatly folded back as it looked at them with a look that could only be described as curiosity. Then, surprisingly, it turned its head away from them and seemed to look somewhere far away.

"Truly..." It stated. They waited for something else to happen. The bird closed its eyes and for a few minutes everything became completely silent again. Gray even had to take a few steps forward since he became afraid that the bird had actually frozen them all up.

The bird then looked at them once again.

"I have heard his cries and I have read his heart." It stated and eerily it ever so slowly turned to look at the three Earthlanders again without saying anything more for a while. It's eyes seemed to peer deep into them, right into their souls.

"I have seen you in his memories-" The bird stated. Before they had any more time to feel intimidated the bird continued: "-and I now leave the fate of this world in your hands. If you truly are his friends you will know what to do if a time to decide comes." The three didn't really understand what the bird meant and they didn't even have any more time to think about it as the bird was then gone quickly as it had appeared.

**I'm feeling real sad since the story is ending, are you?  
>I can't believe I am actually writing the last chapter already T^T<br>Maybe it's too soon but...Thank you for all your support up until now! I couldn't have done it without you! And I can't finish this without you either so please show your support!**


	14. Savior

**Hello my lovely readers!  
>It seems like we have finally reached the end of this story. This will be the last chapter for this story.<br>Thank you for all your support up until now, I really love you all!  
>I hope you enjoy this chapter!<br>**

They ran the rest of the stairs up with speed like never before. Kaito could feel how Haru's breaths were turning agonizingly slow and light. There was no more time.

_'Please hold on. Please. Please.'_ Kaito chanted inside his head as he kicked the ground as hard as he could. He flew at least ten steps up before the staircase suddenly stopped and turned into a straight road ahead.

They all stopped running because of the shock they experienced after seeing what was waiting for them.  
>"Nat...su?" Erza whispered into the air. Everything seemed to stop moving that moment. Their breaths caught in their throat and their eyes stung.<p>

There he was. After three long years, he was finally there. They hadn't expected that they would react in such way but seeing him, just like they remembered, suddenly seemed to melt their hearts and once again the three mages cried. Just like when they realized that he was gone.  
>The three didn't even notice that Kaito and Shin weren't following them as they walked closer to the boy.<p>

The place where he slept was too beautiful for their liking. It was an enormous crystal that gave a faint glow and there he was inside of it looking like he was in a calm sleep. His face looked almost too calm, too serene for their liking. Natsu wasn't a person who was calm, even in his sleep, and the three knew that he would never have chosen this place by his free will.

The three stopped right before the crystal and looked up at the sleeping boy (since his body was a bit higher up than theirs). Gray wiped his tears away quickly and smiled.

"Damn you...making us worry." He said and tried to collect himself so no more tears would be shed. He truly looked just like they remembered. He hadn't aged a day. He still wore the same clothes as that fateful day and his hair was the same exotic pink just like they liked it. He was the Natsu they had been searching for for three long years. Now everything would go back to the way it had been once. The empty spot in their hearts would be filled once more.

As they continued to stare at the figure of the young boy, Kaito walked closer to them. The three took some time before they turned to look at Kaito. They then noticed that Shin was no longer with them. He had disappeared just like that.

"Where is Shin?" Lucy asked worriedly. Kaito looked away of the three.

"We already said our goodbyes. It was time for him to return." There was a slight tint of sadness in Kaito's voice. The three mages frowned. They knew that they would never see Shin again. He would only stay in their memories from that moment on.

"Is see..." Lucy said sadly. Before they had any more time to brood about it Gray remembered that they didn't have any more time.

"Kaito, what do we need to do?" He asked. Kaito turned to look at him with a serious look.

"You have to wake him up." Before the three had time to ask anything more he continued: "Put your hands on the crystal." The three mages shared a look before turning around and doing what Kaito had told them.

"Now, close your eyes." He told them. The three looked at the sleeping boy's face once more before closing their eyes.

"I want you to think about the first memory you have of him." The three were slightly surprised about their task but they did what they had been told.

Gray and Erza still remembered the day when Natsu had arrived to the guild. His eyes were bright and full of wonder. Master was walking right next to him, telling all kinds of stories about their amazing guild and the boy seemed like he could never be happier.

Gray almost laughed when he remembered that he and Natsu had started a fight right on day one and since then they would argue about so many things and fighting became almost a daily habit for the two. Erza would usually step in to stop the two (very violently) and Natsu learned quickly who he was to be afraid of.

Lucy's first memory of Natsu was from a much later time. She still remembered how her heart seemed to bounce out of her chest when she saw Natsu eat the flames of the 'fake salamander' he was fighting. He was a mage like Lucy had never seen before but what she was even more surprised about was his carefree and happy nature and how he would protect those close to him with his life, no questions asked.

Happy. Carefree. Strong. Protective. Hot-blooded. Those things were all him.

"Now I want you to think about the strongest memory you have of him." Kaito's voice woke them from their thoughts.

Their memories seemed to be clearer than ever before and they let themselves be absorbed in them.

Strongest memory. Countless moments swirled inside of their minds. Of course it was the moment when they were saved.

How he found and pulled Erza out of the humongous lacrima after the Tower of Heaven collapsed.

How he had stopped Gray from using Iced Shell and telling him not to run away.

How he had showed Lucy that her home was in Fairy Tail.

He had always fought alongside them and even alone for all of them. He had always there to protect them and the reason they were there right now was because of Natsu's actions. They could never be more grateful.

"Open your eyes." Kaito then told. His voice seemed lighter than before, the usual seriousness gone. The three slowly opened their eyes and the sight before them almost made them fall to the ground in surprise.

The inside of the crystal had turned liquid (reminding them too much of the lacrima in the tower of heaven) and Natsu had moved right before of them and his eyes were wide open. He stared at the three at their eye-level and as the three almost let out a shout in surprise his mouth slowly turned into a wide grin and he seemed to give out a slight laugh.

"Natsu!" The three shouted simultaneously and rushed forward to hit the crystal, trying to break it.

"Natsu! Natsu!" They continued to chant his name as the tears almost fell again. He was awake! He was looking at them with those deep, dark eyes again! Oh, how they just wanted Natsu out of that crystal so they could hold him close once again.

Kaito then walked behind the three and pushed them away gently. The three reluctantly stepped back as Kaito walked right before Natsu.

They expected Natsu to look surprised about his look-alike, but instead he smiled kindly and mouthed: 'thank you'.

Kaito's look softened and there was this calm, warm smile on his face again after a very long time. He nodded and turned to look at the three mages over his shoulder.

"This is goodbye. You won't ever see me or Haru again after this." He turned his head towards Natsu and raised his hand towards him.  
>"Wait!" Erza shouted before he touched the crystal.<p>

"Just wait a moment! You can't just disappear so suddenly... We aren't ready yet." She turned her head away in shame. The fact that her heart beat in excitement for Natsu's return was undeniable and it made her feel disgusted about herself. Was she really was willing to let these two boy's disappear for their selfish reasons?

Natsu was looking at the them sadly inside of his confinement and it was clear that he heard every word they were saying.

"I do not wish to make this any harder than it is. We don't have time for this any more." Before they had time to react, Kaito had put his hand on the crystal.

"No-!" Gray had time to shout before there was an unbelievably bright light and a loud noise. The three were knocked off their feet and they couldn't see or hear anything for a couple of minutes.

The three didn't know it, but the light that had come of the crystal had shined high in the sky and everyone in that world was able to see it for that small moment. That moment would stay in all of their minds for a long time as that moment was when history changed for all of them.

When the three got their hearing and their eyesight back the bright light had dimmed down a bit and they could see that the crystal had shattered into small pieces and Natsu, Kaito and Haru were nowhere to be seen.  
>"Where are they?" Lucy shouted in panic.<p>

"Over there!" Gray shouted and pointed at the sky. And truly, floating in the air was Natsu, his eyes closed, like he was asleep again.

On his right side there was Kaito in the same position and on his right there was Haru.

"Haru! Kaito!" Lucy shouted with despair in her voice. They didn't expect for the two to react in any way but when they opened their eyes they were very happy.

Haru smiled happier than in a long while and he spoke:

"Thank you, Erza, Gray, Lucy! I am really happy I got to meet you!" His voice was full of honesty and it was unfair how happy he looked when he was going to disappear.

"Don't say that!" Lucy answered and her voice cracked as she started sobbing. Her tears fell to the white marble and turned to ice but that went completely unnoticed.

"Because of you three our lives had a meaning. You will always know that we existed and that is important." Kaito spoke.

"This is so stupid..." Gray spoke and his head was facing the ground as he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Why do you have to disappear...?" He tried to look at the two angrily but his face was twisted in sadness.

"This is how our stories were meant to end. We were always meant to return back to Natsu and now we can do that. It's the peace we have been searching for for a very long time." Kaito continued to explain. The light around the two seemed to brighten slightly and the three saw something horrifying. Their bodies were starting to disappear together with the light.

"No! This can't be how things are supposed to go!" Erza shouted as tears rolled down her face too. She inhaled and shouted: "NATSU! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

Natsu's eyes shot wide open and he looked at the three in wonder before he looked at Haru and Kaito. He seemed to shout at them but no voice came out. He noticed this and tried to shout more. His face twisted in despair but Kaito replied his look with a sad smile.

"It's alright. This is how things are supposed to be." Kaito reassured him. Natsu gritted his teeth in sadness, just like the three on the ground.

Haru sighed sadly but held his smile firmly.

"Goodbye, friends." He told them and right then, his body seemed to explode into tiny spots of light. The lights looked just like the fireflies Haru had called when they had arrived to this world and the memory made them even sadder.

"Haru...!" Lucy shouted and fell to her knees and covered her face as she sobbed. Natsu seemed to shout the boy's name too before his eyes closed tightly as the tiny lights went inside of his body. He gasped loudly and looked upwards. He didn't move for a little while but then his head snapped to his left where Kaito was, or what was left of him. Only his left shoulder and his head were visible and he gave Natsu one last smile.

"No, Kaito!" Natsu shouted as he got his voice back and he tried to reach for the older boy but his body dissipated that moment. The lights from his body floated inside Natsu and he wrapped his hands around him tightly.

"I'm sorry..." He breathed sadly.

Everything seemed to stop around them. They were really gone. Haru and Kaito would never return to them again. They felt almost like they had murdered the two. It felt so wrong.

Unfortunately they didn't have any more time to feel sad about what had happened when the bright light suddenly expanded around them and it seemed to cover the land all around them with lightning speed.

Natsu seemed shocked about what was happening and he was looking around him, trying to figure what was going on.

"Natsu! What's going on!?" Erza shouted at the boy and he met her gaze in haste.

"My power is getting out of hand-! I can't control it!" The three looked at the boy in shock.

"What's going to happen?!" Gray shouted. Before they got an answer the ground under them cracked and split. The girls let out a scream as the began to fall into the suddenly appeared ravine but they felt a sudden force pull them up. They saw Natsu extending his hand towards them and they had soon floated right behind him. The boy didn't meet their gaze since he seemed to be to busy being terrified.

"This world-! It's going to disappear!" The three looked at the younger in shock.

"What?!" Natsu gulped and sweat rolled down his forehead.

They all looked at the scenery before them. The lands around them seemed to crumble together with the white light and turn into utter darkness.

Natsu closed his eyes and seemed to think hard about something before he turned his head to look at the three and gave a forced smile.

"I-it's okay. We'll go home. Back to Earthland..." He said as sadness dripped down his voice. The three looked at each other in uncertainty.

"Natsu..." Erza began and took a step towards the boy. "Is there any way to save this world?"

Natsu's head snapped to them in surprise.

"What?" He breathed and looked at them questionably. Erza smiled sadly.

"We have met so many people in this world and we became friends with them. _You _became friends with them. This world is important to you and it is important for us too so if you can do something for these people... I think we all agree that we want you to do that." She finished and Natsu looked at them wide-eyed. Then his face melted into a sad look and he looked away from them.

"I can't save this world-" The three felt their chest tighten at that, "-but I might be able to save the people in it." He finished and looked ahead with the look they were used to see. It was strength that shone from those eyes. Strength...and determination. It was really Natsu. But...

Natsu looked at them with seriousness.

"That means that I might not be able to return to Earthland anymore. Are you still sure I can do it?" The three looked at each other. They looked shocked...and sad. After all they had gone through they still couldn't have him back? They would once again have to return home empty-handed and be forced to tell their friends they had failed. Could they go through that once again? They were full of doubt. But when they looked at Natsu they knew what needed to be done. They weren't going to risk the lives of the people in that world for their own reasons. But they wouldn't give up either.

"No." Gray said and closed his eyes. Then he opened them again and smiled.

"You are going to save these people and then you will come back to your home where we will be waiting." Natsu's eyes opened in surprise before he gave a light laugh and smiled.

"Yeah. You're right. That's what I'll do." He gave one wide smile before he raised a hand towards them and said:  
>"See you later!" A blinding light surrounded them and soon they couldn't see the boy anymore.<p>

The three knew they would have to wait for him once again but this time the time wouldn't be so long. They just knew it.

–

When the three opened their eyes they were standing before their guild and the sky was dark like it had been when they had left. A warm light shined through the guild's windows welcoming them home.

The three shared one last sad smile before it turned into genuine joy for they knew that this time they had truly saved Natsu.

**There we go! I finally finished it!  
>I really hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.<br>I have one last question I would like to ask: Which OC did you like best or were they all useless and annoying?  
>Anyways, thank you! Without you I wouldn't have finished this story, but now it is finished!<br>If you are even slightly interested check out my other stories and if you have an idea what I could write next feel free to send me a PM. **


	15. Coming home

**Okay, just for you I wrote this very short sequel. I hope you like it!**

It had been already two months since the three mages had returned back to Earthland and they still spent all their days at the guild, just waiting for the certain someone to walk through the front doors, grinning like a fool. They hadn't even performed any missions and they were starting to run low on money. But still they felt like if they left Natsu would return right that moment. They needed to be there when he returned. So they waited.

Little did they know that today their wait would be over.

It was late that evening and the guild had been especially noisy that day since they were celebrating a few mages' birthday. Lucy, Erza and Gray sat silently at one table in the background while drinking some alcohol and relaxing. The noise somehow calmed their nerves since it made them feel like home. But there was one sound that was missing.

"_Erza, fight me!"_

"_It's a fight Gray!" _His voice echoed in their minds.

Little by little the guild turned more and more silent until there were only some sober people up as the rest had either returned to their homes or were asleep on the floor.

In that silence the doors opened and a stranger with a cape walked in. The hood was covering his head but his face was somewhat visible. The first ones who noticed the boy was Erza and she shot up from her seat in shock. The two mages beside her followed her line of sight and once they saw what she was looking at they shot up simultaneously, making the bench they were sitting on fall. The boy heard the loud sound and turned to look at them and grinned.

"Lucy, Erza, Gray!" He said happily and pulled off his hood.

"I'm home!"

**So there you have your lovely Natsu back.  
>There is one more thing I wish to say:<br>Thank you and... THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL STORY FOR THIS!  
>I hope you are happy.<br>I still haven't gotten the storyline written but I have some random parts written already which were meant to be in the original story but they just didn't fit in somehow.  
>I will probably start publishing Fever sequel first but I might be able to get a few chapter of Lost and Found sequel up too.<br>Follow me if you want to know when the new story is up since this story ends here and the new story will be called Lost and Found 2.  
>Until then!<br>~Younggirl**


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